Jane Grigson, nee McIntire, was born in Gloucester in 1928, but was brought up in Sunderland, and after taking an English degree at Cambridge in 1949, worked in art galleries, publishers, and as a translator. In 1953 she joined the publisher, George Rainbird, as a picture researcher, where she met her husband Geoffrey Grigson, who worked there as an editor.
Jane herself did not start out to become an expert in food and cookery. It was only years later, after she and her family began to spend several months of the year in France, that Jane developed a fascination with French cuisine. She ended up researching and writing 'Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery', which looks into the wealth of cooked meat products that are available in even the smallest French market towns. This work was received with much acclaim and, as a direct result, Elizabeth David recommended Jane to The Observer newspaper as their food columnist. She remained in this capacity for the next twenty one years.
As well as writing her columns and recipes, Jane also wrote eleven other books, including 'Jane Grigson's Fruit Book', 'English Food' and 'Good Things'.
From the guide to the Grigson Collection, 20th century, (Special Collections and Archives, Headington Library, Oxford Brookes University)
