Iron & Glass

From Cookery and Homemaking to Restaurant Management and Dietetics: Food Sciences at Pratt Institute

Post submitted by Cristina Fontánez Rodríguez, Virginia Thoren and Institute Archivist at Pratt Institute Libraries. 

"Foodshow" circa 1900.

Last year, the Pratt Institute Archives presented an exhibit titled: "From Cookery and Homemaking to Restaurant Management and Dietetics: Food Sciences at Pratt Institute". This exhibit highlighted a somewhat forgotten field in Pratt Institute’s academic history: the culinary arts. In fact, culinary arts, or “cookery” were among the first programs taught at Pratt.  In a letter from 1887 sent by Charles Pratt, the school's founder, to Julia Corson, he seeks her advice for a cooking school he is planning to open at his new Institute in Brooklyn. 

Charles Pratt to Julia Corson. May 13th, 1887. Records of the School of Home Economics. 

Pratt Institute is now known for its focus on art and design, but Charles Pratt’s initial intention for the school was to create an institution where students of all races, genders, and economic backgrounds could learn a variety of trades and keep up with Brooklyn’s shift from a rural to an industrial economy. The Records of the School of Home Economics contain institutional records, student workbooks, memorabilia, course descriptions, and alumnae news that document the history of the school, beginning with correspondence and reports from 1887, show the school's growth and the eventual decline in the 1950s that would lead to its closing and absorption by two other schools within the Institute in 1961. In addition to these documents, the Archives Photograph Collection, a selection of which is available online, contains many wonderful photographs of students engaged in the domestic arts and sciences from the 1880s to the 1980s and provides us with valuable evidence about the programs.

Left: “A Domestic Science Man.” Cyanotype. Mabel Campbell, 1900.; Right: “Classes for Homemakers.” Pamphlet from the School of Household Science and Arts, 1918-1919. Records of the School of Home Economics.

“Exhibit of Women Graduates and Pupils of Pratt Institute". Pamphlet from the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Pratt Institute graduates exhibited objects related to the industrial and fine arts that would “awaken and sustain an interest in the industrial work of all women”.  Records of the School of Home Economics.

In 1888, 193 students enrolled in a one-year cooking course. The course consisted of morning and evening classes, which included building and care of the fire, proper modes of measuring liquids and solids, boiling and broiling of meats and vegetables, and makings soups, pudding and bread. The course was quickly extended to include instruction in the chemistry of foods, serving of meals and waiting of tables, marketing, and care of foods. According to the 1890-1891 Pratt Institute catalog, the tuition per each course of ten lessons started at $1, with Fancy Cookery being the most expensive course at $15 per course. Tuition for evening classes, which were reserved for self-supporting women, ranged averaged $2 per course.

The foundations for the field of home economics at Pratt can be traced through the merging of the departments of Domestic Science and Domestic Arts into the School of Household Science and Arts. Both departments were established at Pratt Institute during its first complete school year in 1888 with the goal of affording women a thorough training in those branches of science and art which pertain to good housekeeping and home-making.  The title “Department” was later replaced with “School” in 1909, thus creating two distinct schools within Pratt Institute. One year later in 1910, both departments were merged as the School of Household Arts and Sciences, directed by Isabel Ely Lord, the former director of the Pratt Institute Library. This new school combined courses in household arts and sciences and developed programs specifically aimed at teachers, dietitians, nurses, home-makers, and house-workers. Regardless of the area of focus, all women enrolled in the School of Household Science and Arts had to complete 830 hours of classes in Science, specifically courses in chemistry, bacteriology, physiology, nature study, and heat.  According to the 1910-1911 Pratt Institute Catalog, courses in organic chemistry for Domestic Science students focused on food analysis, while Physiology courses taught students about digestion, public and personal hygiene, and home nursing. Bacteriology involved training in laboratory practices and principles and Nature study afforded students an introduction to the methods of scientific observation and inference. In addition, Household Science students had to complete 615 hours of Applied Science, which included the practical application of domestic science such as preservation and preparation of food, dietetics, and accounting. 

Top: Cookery students, c.1904. Bottom Left: Students during Chemistry of Foods class, April 1912.  Bottom Right: Student tests milk during Chemistry of Foods class, undated. Pratt Institute Archives Photograph Collection.

The domestic arts weren't only considered important for adults. Saturday morning children’s classes in sewing and cooking began in September 1889. In a letter sent to Frederic B. Pratt on May 19th, 1900, Edith Greer, Director of the School of Domestic Science stated emphasized the importance of children engaging in practical learning: “Through cookery, sewing, work in wood, and allied lines of industrial work it has been demonstrated that much can be done, that otherwise would be left undone, for the character of the child, in that, for some children these subjects have a special awakening power, and for all form an admirable basis of correlation for all the other schoolwork, arouse a deeper and more intelligent interest in the abstract work which is to follow, and increase the power to think”. 

Young students in a cookery class at Pratt Institute's Department of Domestic Science, 1900.

In 1941, the school was renamed the School of Home Economics and would continue to offer courses in fine arts and sciences, dividing the offered courses into four areas of study: costume (fashion) design and construction, dietetics, cafeteria management, and homemaking. Additional facilities were acquired, including the townhouse at 220 Willoughby Avenue, which was converted into a homemaking practice house for homemaking students to explore the arts of interior design, dining service, and practical home economics. Until the 1959-1960 school year, cooking and food science were taught as part of the general home economics curriculum. 

      Left: Students working in practice kitchen, Senior Dietetics, January 1933.  Right: Three students demonstrate their skills at the practice house, January 1931. Photo by Dana B. Merrill. 

By looking at the brochures and marketing materials produced by the school, we can see that the school’s initial purpose of serving students, especially women, seeking professional careers and financial independence remained constant. The image below (left) comes from “… An Open Door to Your Career in Home Economics…,” an informational brochure from 1948. It states that after two years of “basic training in the various phases of Home Economics,” students interested in food careers could major in Foods, Institution Management, or Dietetics. Courses included History of Foods, Test Kitchen Procedures, Science of Nutrition, and Food Cost Accounting. The brochure is sprinkled with accounts of graduates, all women, who have succeeded in obtaining careers related to home economics such as Food Editor and Fabric Consultant. Likewise, the brochure on the right describes the requirements for earning a Bachelor of Science in Professional Foods, which prepared students to work as restaurant and hospitality managers, dietitians, food writers, photographers, and more.

Left: “… An Open Door to Your Career in Home Economics…,”  School of Home Economics, Pratt Institute, 1948.

 Right: “Professional Foods Careers in Institution and Restaurant Administration, Foods and Nutrition”, c. 1950s. Records of the School of Home Economics.

Enrollment declined steadily through the late 1950s, resulting in the closure of the school in 1960. The same year, the School of Continuing Professional Studies was established and absorbed the degree of Institution Administration, which eventually became Food Science and Management. The emphasis of the program then was solely on the industry aspects of careers related to food administration from work in hospitals and government institutions to hospitality and food production. Thus, this new approach eliminated the "home" aspect of different foods-related programs under the School of Home Economics. In 1976, the Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Management, as well as Nutrition and Dietetics, were moved to the newly formed School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Enrollment for both the Food Science and Management and Nutrition and Dietetics programs steadily declined throughout the early 80s, culminating in the elimination of the Food Science program in 1984 and Nutrition and Dietetics in 1988. 

Food Photography,  School of Home Economics, Pratt Institute, December 5th, 1960.

A Teen Cook’s Tour.” Seventeen Magazine, November 1963. Seventeen a School was a special edition publication from Seventeen magazine that featured a 15-year-old recipe contest winner from Alabama whose prize included a visit to Pratt’s Food Science and Management department. The School of Continuing and Professional Studies hosted many contests over the years, including several sandwich and cookie recipe contests. Records of the School of Home Economics.

Food Science and Management, School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Pratt Institute, 1980s. Pratt Institute Archives Photograph Collection.

While Cookery, Food Science, Dietetics, or Restaurant Management are certainly not the first things that come to mind when we think about Pratt Institute now, these records help to tell the story of a vision for a "great industrial school in Brooklyn" that continues to pique the interest of any Archives visitor.

Top: Prattonia, 1962.; Left: Prattonia, 1967; Right: Prattonia, 1984.