Has she been reduced to a trivia question?

As you may or may not know I am a librarian in a culinary school.  I also teach English and Public Speaking.  In several instances I have used Fanny Cradock as an example of media savvy, showman ship, early television chef stardom and of course a rise and fall story.I do this especially as more and more of our students are citing the food network as the reason they are taking to cooking,  However, recently I've started polling my faculty and fellow librarians and sadly her name is not ringing any bells.

"Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey (26 February 1909 – 27 December 1994), better known as Fanny Cradock, was an English restaurant critic, television cook and writer frequently appearing on television, at cookery demonstrations and in print with Major Johnnie Cradock who played the part of a slightly bumbling husband.

Fanny Cradock came to the attention of the public in the postwar-utility years, trying to inspire the average housewife with an exotic approach to cooking. She famously worked in various ball-gowns without the customary cook’s apron, averring that women should feel cooking was easy and enjoyable, rather than messy and intimidating.

In her early anonymous role as a food critic, working with Major Cradock under the name of ‘Bon Viveur’,[3] Fanny introduced the public to unusual dishes from France and Italy, popularising the pizza in England.[4] She is also credited as the originator of the Prawn Cocktail. She and Johnny worked together on a touring cookery show, sponsored by the Gas Council, to show how gas could be used easily in the kitchen and, as their fame increased, Fanny’s shows transferred to television, where she enjoyed 20 years of success.

In the course of her shows Fanny made frequent concessions to the economic realities of the era, suggesting cheaper alternatives which would be within reach of the housewife’s purse. The BBC published her recipes and suggestions for dinner-parties in a series of booklets, consolidating her reputation as the foremost celebrity chef of her day.

Fanny adopted a combative persona, with dramatic make-up and waspish comments to Major Cradock and her assistants, and would advise viewers, when showing them how to pierce a turkey with forks, to think of a neighbour they didn’t like. Her theatrical style was ripe for parodies, such as Betty Marsden's 'Fanny Haddock' radio-sketch in Beyond our Ken. It also led, at the height of her fame to a spectacular crash-and-burn on The Big Time, where Fanny disastrously brought her acid wit into play when dealing with housewife Gwen Troake." via Wikipedia

In her appearance above with Gwen Troake, Fanny is no more combative than some of today's television cooking celebrities. but the public at the time was not ready for what is commonplace culinary viewing today and it effectively marked the beginning of the end of Fanny's public career.

Moreover Fanny's dismissive performance above can't hold a candle to her full personality and life story:I highly recommend The Real Hell's Kitchen: The shocking truth about flamboyant TV chef Fanny Cradock