Emalee Chapman

November 11, 1923 - March 23, 2022

Emalee Chapman, cookbook author widely noted for her “taste”, died on March 23rd in Napa at 98. Author of seven cookbooks and founder of one of the first cooking schools in San Francisco in the late 1960s, Emalee was a long-time resident of San Francisco, often appearing in the social pages of the SF Chronicle and in Herb Caen’s column. She was well known for her style, cuisine, and cookbooks, which included “Fifteen Minute Meals”, “Fresh Fifteen Minute Meals”, and a series for Williams Sonoma that included “Chicken”, “Vegetables”, and “Italian Meals”, which were translated into French “Le Poulet”, Spanish “Pollo” and distributed internationally in various other languages. Emalee Chapman was born in 1923 to Anthony and Emma Sala in Fresno and spent her early years living in Stockton and Lodi. Her father was a banker, and her mother was a “Raisin Queen” in Fresno. She attended Dominican Convent High School in San Rafael and graduated in 1945 from Stanford University. Her father was born in Padua, Italy and came to America in his youth and joined A.P. Giannini in the founding of Bank of Italy in 1904, which later became Bank of America, where he worked his entire career. Mr. Sala was instrumental in providing agriculture and commercial loans to small businesses, farmers, wine growers and many other agribusinesses during the Depression in the San Joaquin, Sacramento, Napa, and Sonoma Valleys, managing bank branches in Fresno, Stockton, and Lodi. Emalee’s brother Ralph Sala, Stanford ‘50, was an Olympic-class swimmer and participated in the Pan American Games. He is in the Stanford Hall of Fame. Ralph died in the Korean War in 1955. Emalee was married to Duff Gordon Chapman, Stanford ‘48, a decorated Marine Raider who fought throughout the Pacific in World War II, whose great grandfather was a California Pioneer that came to California in 1843 with Captain Fremont and who was a descendant of William Brewster who came on the Mayflower and whose Chapman forebears arrived in New London, CT in the 1630s and fought in the Colonial and Revolutionary Wars. His father was Dr. Herbert Samuel Chapman, a graduate of Stanford and head of the Dameron Hospital in Stockton. Emalee Chapman raised her four children, Cecelia, Brian, Peter, and Duncan in Presidio Heights following her divorce. Known for her unique taste for social style, fashion, and interior design, she took her children to live in Florence, Italy in the early 1960s for “the exposure”. She developed a deep appreciation for fine cuisine and wines and attended the Cordon Bleu. When she returned to San Francisco, she began writing a column on food and wine with recipes in San Francisco Magazine, the SF Chronicle, and other publications. In 1968 Emalee established the first cooking school in San Francisco and began writing several cooking books with the theme “Fast Fifteen Meals” and a series she co-authored with Chuck Williams for William Sonoma. At Trader Vic’s, “Emalee Chapman’s Salad” was listed on the menu. Her homes appeared in House Beautiful, Agricultural Digest, and other magazines. She is survived by her daughter Cecelia of Portugal, Peter and Diane Chapman of Millbrook, New York, Duncan and Barbara of Palm Beach, Florida, and four grandchildren.