HOLLYWOOD KITCHEN - MY INTERVIEW WITH KARIE BIBLE

Karie Bible is a prominent American film historian, author, and tour guide for the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Renowned for her deep expertise in cinema's Golden Age, she leads her acclaimed historical tours dressed in authentic vintage gowns ranging from the 1920s through to the 1950s. Beyond her work at the cemetery grounds, Karie is also an active preservationist who has her own YouTube channel dedicated to celebrity recipes. Want to know more? Then please check out the following Q and A with Karie Bible.





1) Name three words that best describe who you are.   I'd say, creative, sensitive, and motivated.

2) What inspired you to create, 'Hollywood Kitchen'?   I've been collecting vintage cookbooks and movie-star recipes for a long time, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them creatively until the pandemic occurred. I was alone in my small apartment trying to stay sane, and one day I thought to myself, 'Why don't I create a YouTube channel?'. I already know many great authors, film historians, and collectors, so I thought it might be fun to do cooking segments and interviews with them via Zoom. That was pretty much how I started 'Hollywood Kitchen'. It's super low budget and crude, but I'm having so much fun doing it!

3) In your own words, how would you describe your YouTube channel?   The idea behind my channel is that I make a recipe attributed to a star from the Golden Age of Hollywood, while having a conversation with an author, historian, or expert about that particular celebrity. I like to keep these conversations casual and freewheeling, as if we were sitting together in my kitchen at home.

4) From the recipes you've made so far, which one is your favorite and why?   I'd say my favorite celebrity recipe is Ida Lupino's lemon mousse. It's from a 1934 cookbook, and unlike many of the other recipes, it needs no alteration. It's so simple to make and so refreshing to eat that several of my co-workers have asked me to make it for them again.

5) If you could get a celebrity - either living or dead - to promote your work, who would you choose, and why would you want to choose this particular person?   That's a tough question to answer, but at the end of the day, I think all roads lead to Vincent Price. Not only did he love to cook, but he also wrote three cookbooks and even hosted his own cooking TV show. To me, Vincent was a legend on the silver screen and in the kitchen.

6) What's the most surprising fact you discovered about the Golden Age of Hollywood?   The most surprising thing I've discovered is how hard the stars had to struggle, not just to become stars, but to stay stars. Public tastes change and fame is fickle, so it was really tough for many of them to remain relevant for long. Women struggled amidst sexism and ageism, especially when many actresses were considered finished by the time they reached their thirties or forties. Some had careers that were five to ten years long, while others were able to have careers that lasted thirty to fifty years. Either way, it was an uphill battle.

To find out more about Karie and her work, please feel free to click here to check out her official website.