Jeanne Carola Francesconi

{{Short description|Italian chef and cookbook author}}

{{Infobox chef

| name = Jeanne Caròla Francesconi

| caption = Jeanne Caròla Francesconi, photo by Augusto De Luca

| alt =

| image = Jeanne_Carola_Francesconi_-_foto_di_Augusto_De_Luca.jpg

| birth_name=

| birth_date = July 12, 1903

| birth_place = Naples, Italy

| death_date = 1995{{Citation needed|date=January 2016}}

| death_place = Naples, Italy

| death_cause =

| nationality = Italian

| height =

| spouse =

| style = Neapolitan

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}}

Jeanne Caròla Francesconi (July 12, 1903, in Naples – 1995, in Naples){{citation needed|date=January 2016}} was an Italian chef and cookbook author, considered "the dean of Neapolitan cuisine".{{cite web|url=http://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/napoli/notizie/a_tavola/2010/20-dicembre-2010/jeanne-carola-tradizione-si-fa-moderna-181115717022.shtml|title=Jeanne Caròla, la tradizione si fa moderna - Corriere del Mezzogiorno|website=Corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it|accessdate=18 July 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://memoriediangelina.com/2013/02/03/minestra-maritata-the-original-wedding-soup/|title=Minestra maritata (The Original Italian "Wedding Soup") - Memorie di Angelina|date=3 February 2013|website=Memoriediangelina.com|accessdate=18 July 2018}} Her most important work is La cucina napoletana (1965), which has been called the "bible" of Neapolitan cuisine, "the most complete book of [Neapolitan] cuisine",

{{Cite book |last=Lambertini, Volpe, & Guizzaro |title=Miseria e nobiltà nella storia della cucina napoletana |publisher=Tempo lungo |date=1999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OPDgAAAAMAAJ |isbn=8887480222}}{{rp|120}} and the most important Neapolitan cookbook after Cavalcanti.{{cite web|url=http://www.librerianeapolis.it/libri-84159/39-cucina/1706-la-cucina-napoletana-jeanne-carola-francesconi|title=LA CUCINA NAPOLETANA - Jeanne Carola Francesconi|website=Librerianeapolis.it|accessdate=18 July 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618025744/https://www.librerianeapolis.it/libri-84159/39-cucina/1706-la-cucina-napoletana-jeanne-carola-francesconi|url-status=dead}} She has been quoted in several English-language cookbooks, such as Precious Cargo: How Foods From the Americas Changed The World by Dave DeWitt{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQAQBAAAQBAJ&q=Jeanne+Carola+Francesconi&pg=PA174|title=Precious Cargo: How Foods From the Americas Changed The World|first=David|last=DeWitt|date=26 May 2014|publisher=Counterpoint|isbn=9781619023888|accessdate=18 July 2018|via=Google Books}} and The Food Of Italy by Claudia Roden.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2PHCAgAAQBAJ&q=Jeanne+Carola+Francesconi&pg=PA432|title=The Food Of Italy|first=Claudia|last=Roden|date=20 March 2014|publisher=Random House|isbn=9781409015499|accessdate=18 July 2018|via=Google Books}}

Jeanne Francesconi was born in Naples on Via Santa Teresella degli Spagnoli, to Armando Francesconi, descendant of the well-known engineer Pasquale Francesconi, and Silvana Flora Barboglio, daughter of an illustrious Garibaldino from Brescia. After completing her studies at the Suor Orsola Benincasa University Institute, Jeanne was a pupil of the major teachers of the time from Erminia Capocelli to Antonietta Pagliara and Cecilia Dentice. During the First World War, the teenager dedicated herself to the activity of Red Cross nurse. In 1926 she married the Neapolitan engineer Cav. Vincenzo Caròla. She also had the distinction of being one of the first women in Naples to obtain a driver’s license. Biographical information from Jelardi, 'Strade personaggi e storie di Napoli'

Francesconi is remembered as the hostess of several legendary dinners for Naples's upper class.{{cite web|url=http://memoriediangelina.com/2016/01/22/jeanne-carola-francesconi/|title=Jeanne Caròla Francesconi: La Cucina Napoletana - Memorie di Angelina|date=22 January 2016|website=Memoriediangelina.com|accessdate=18 July 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/napoli/notizie/a_tavola/2010/20-dicembre-2010/jeanne-carola-tradizione-si-fa-moderna-181115717022.shtml?refresh_ce-cp|title=Jeanne Caròla, la tradizione si fa moderna - Corriere del Mezzogiorno|website=Corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it|accessdate=18 July 2018}}