# Carson Gulley

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**Carson Gulley** (June 9, 1897 – November 2, 1962)[1] was head chef at the [University of Wisconsin–Madison](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Madison) from 1926 to 1954. He is known in part for popularizing a recipe for fudge-bottom pie that is still served on campus today.[2] The [refectory](/source/Refectory) where he once served as head chef is now known as Carson Gulley Commons. It was the first university building at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to be named after an African American.[3]

Gulley was also a local pioneer in television and radio cooking programming. From 1953 to 1962, Gulley had his own weekly cooking show, called *What's Cooking*, on local television station [WMTV](/source/WMTV). Also, in 1953, he hosted a twice-weekly local radio cooking program, called *[WIBA](/source/WIBA_(AM)) Cooking School of the Air*, and each month compiled the program's recipes in booklets that listeners could request by mail. He and his wife Beatrice were the first African American couple to host their own television show in Wisconsin in the 1950s.[4][5]

He led the Madison branch of the [NAACP](/source/NAACP). Having failed for many years to buy a house in [Madison](/source/Madison,_Wisconsin), he made an emotional appeal to the [Madison City Council](/source/Madison_City_Council)'s Committee on Human Rights. This in part led to the City Council passing a Fair Housing Ordinance.[6]

He published his first book *Seasoning Secrets: Herbs and Spices* in 1949 at the suggestion of [George Washington Carver](/source/George_Washington_Carver).

## Early life

Gulley was born in Zama, [Nevada County, Arkansas](/source/Nevada_County,_Arkansas)[7] to a family of [sharecroppers](/source/Sharecropper).[8][5] He was one of ten children.

## Bibliography

- *Seasoning Secrets: Herbs and Spices*, 1949; revised 1956

## References

1. ["Remembering a trailblazing chef: Carson Gulley"](https://diversity.wisc.edu/2016/02/remembering-a-trailblazing-chef-carson-gulley/). University of Wisconsin–Madison. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2020.

1. Penn, Michael (Spring 2006). ["The Life of Pie"](http://www.uwalumni.com/media/images/photography/onwisconsin/pdf/Pie.pdf). *On Wisconsin*. pp. 40–43. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020515/http://www.uwalumni.com/media/images/photography/onwisconsin/pdf/Pie.pdf) September 28, 2007 at the Wayback Machine.

1. Simms, Muriel (October 29, 2018). *Settlin': Stories of Madison's Early African American Families*. Wisconsin Historical Society. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-87020-886-7.

1. Seyforth, Scott (Summer 2016). ["The Life and Times of Carson Gulley"](http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/wmh/id/52332). *Wisconsin Magazine of History*. Vol. 99, no. 4. pp. 2–15.

1. Michel, Karen Lincoln (January 26, 2016). ["We need another Carson Gulley"](http://www.channel3000.com/madison-magazine/opinions/michel-we-need-another-carson-gulley/37645306). *Madison Magazine*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160206180122/http://www.channel3000.com/madison-magazine/opinions/michel-we-need-another-carson-gulley/37645306) February 6, 2016 at the Wayback Machine.

1. Martell, Chris (5 February 2006). ["A Place in Black History"](https://madison.com/lifestyles/article_5dff1324-d8ea-5241-ab81-d2b76756f9ce.html). *madison.com*. Retrieved 10 December 2020.

1. ["Carson Gulley, Madison's first celebrity chef"](https://recollectionwisconsin.org/carson-gulley-madisons-first-celebrity-chef). *Recollection Wisconsin*. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2020.

1. ["Fudge Bottom Pie"](https://web.archive.org/web/20201126020018/https://www.housing.wisc.edu/2018/06/fudge-bottom-pie/). University of Wisconsin–Madison. June 2018. Archived from [the original](https://www.housing.wisc.edu/2018/06/fudge-bottom-pie/) on November 26, 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.

## External links

- [Fudge-bottom pie taste test](https://web.archive.org/web/20060525205553/http://www.uwalumni.com/home/onwisconsin/archives/spring2006/spring2006.aspx)
- [The Carson Gulley Cookbook Collection](http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HumanEcol.CarsonGulley)
- [Newly remodeled Carson Gulley Center is open for dining, events](http://www.news.wisc.edu/21995)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Carson Gulley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carson_Gulley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carson_Gulley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.