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In the 1960s, Carol Burnett was bold in comedy, but basic in cooking
Fearless on The Carol Burnett Show, but cautious in the kitchen!
Carol Burnett was an early queen of comedy. She was willing to try a new joke any day, but trying new foods was where she drew the line. While many celebrities today have personal chefs, in the 1960s and ’70s, most stars did their own cooking... even if they weren’t the best at it.
In Carol Burnett’s case, she grew up around good food, but in a 1967 interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, she said her tastes were fairly simple compared with the more refined palates of others in Hollywood.
"I first started cooking when I was staying at the Rehearsal Club in New York and had to cook for myself," Burnett said. "I had always had everything well-done, since I was born in Texas. I would look for the end cut from a roast beef. I didn’t know what exotic foods were. I’m still a Peg Bracken kind of cook, but my tastes are much wider now."
Peg Bracken was a cookbook author best known for humorous, approachable titles such as The I Hate to Cook Book, which emphasized simple, no-fuss home cooking.
Burnett also credited her upbringing in San Antonio, Texas, with shaping her appreciation for straightforward, comforting food. She developed an early love for Mexican food, which remains closely associated with San Antonio’s culinary culture today.
"My mother was crazy for Mexican food," Burnett said. "She was well known for her enchiladas and made them for the entire neighborhood. I still have her recipe, but I’ve never been able to do it right. Let’s face it, good cooking is instinctive."
According to the interview, Burnett’s earliest cooking attempts included casseroles and a dish she called "poverty macaroni," made with macaroni noodles, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, and chili powder.
As her fame grew through The Carol Burnett Show, she had access to fancier restaurants and meals, but she still preferred simple meals that reminded her of home and how she grew up.
"I still approach new foods with some trepidation," Burnett said. "It took Julie Andrews, Mike Nichols, my husband, and a couple of drinks to get me to try snails for the first time."
While Burnett became known for her fearless comedic performances on The Carol Burnett Show, she was far more cautious when it came to food. Even legends have their limits.
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