Charla L. Draper

Home economist and food writer Charla L. Draper was born on January 24, 1952, in Chicago, Illinois, to Alberta and Charles Draper. Draper received her B.A. degree in home economics with a minor in marketing from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois in 1973 and her M.S. degree in marketing communications from Roosevelt University in Chicago.

After graduating from Bradley University, Draper joined Kraft Foods Company as a test kitchen home economist in 1973, where she worked for five years. In 1982, Draper became the director of food and home furnishing at the Johnson Publishing Company and Ebony Magazine, where she served until 1984. Draper then moved into public relations while working at the Birmingham Public Library in Alabama. She then became the manager of the Communications Center at the Campbell Soup Company in 1984. After three years at the Campbell Soup Company, Draper returned to Kraft Foods as a test kitchen supervisor in 1987. In 2000, Draper published her book Cooking on Nineteenth-Century Whaling Ships: Exploring History Through Simple Recipes through Blue Earth Books. Draper also founded National Soul Food Month in June of 2001. Draper worked for Southern Living Magazine in Birmingham from 2004 to 2009 as an associate food editor. In 2009, Draper founded her own food marketing company, It’s Food Biz!, in Chicago, Illinois. Draper worked as the president of It’s Food Biz! for over fifteen years.

Draper served on the boards of numerous organizations including Southern Foodways Alliance, Culinary Historians of Chicago, Bradley University College of Education and Health Sciences, the National Association of Black Journalists Chicago Chapter, the Birmingham Association of Black Journalists, Les Dames Escoffier, Chicago, the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD). She co-founded Common Threads and also served as president of Home Economists in Business (HEIB).

During her career, Draper received numerous awards including the Minority Achievers of Industry Award from the YMCA, the Golden Trumpet Award from the Publicity Club of Chicago in 1985, and the Silver Trumpet Award from the Publicity Club of Chicago in 1986.

Draper lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Charla L. Draper was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 4, 2023.