Betty Crocker has been a staple in American kitchens since she was first introduced in 1921 by Washburn Crosby, today known as General Mills.
Except Crocker wasn’t a real person. The company started receiving questions on baking tips and realized it needed someone to answer those questions, and rather than finding a real person, Crocker was invented to help guide the American housewife.
Fast forward to 2024 and Crocker suddenly came to life in the Saugus High School gym on Monday in the form of English teacher Jodi Guerrero. She and a few students and staff members dressed up as famous female chefs from throughout history as part of Saugus’ 14th annual Women in History event.
This is the first year the event, held in partnership with the American Association of University Women, has been held at Saugus since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Louise Willard, the school’s career transition advisor and a member of AAUW.
“It gives us a personality, a face to who these women are,” Willard said. “You can see them on TV, but when you actually see a real, live impersonator, you go, ‘Oh, wow, I get it now.’ And we all have something unique about us.”
Using a mid-Atlantic speech pattern, Willard brought to life Julia Child, an American chef and TV personality who died in 2004. Chelsea Gutkowski, the school librarian, took on the form of Rachael Ray, an American cook, TV personality, business owner and author. Three students also took part: Freshman Lan Miranda played Debbie Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields’ Original Cookies; junior Aminat Arowolo played Leah Chase, a New Orleans-based Creole chef who died in 2019; and senior Hannah Guzman played Hélène Darroze, a French chef with three restaurants in Europe and six Michelin stars.
Willard said the event is typically made for elementary audiences, but Saugus High is using it to not only inform the student population of important women in history, but also give the impersonators a chance to work on their theater skills. Arowolo said she relished the opportunity to practice her public speaking and learn more about Chase.
“It’s really interesting to see the different upbringings everyone else has,” Arowolo said.
Miranda spoke of how Fields started baking cookies for the Oakland Athletics at the age of 13 before starting a national bakery chain.
“I’ve learned that Debbie Fields is a very passionate woman who loves baking, obviously, and I guess the biggest thing I learned is that she’s not just a fictional person,” Miranda said.
That was one of Willard’s hopes in planning the event. She wanted to teach everyone that some of society’s favorite things came around because of women.
“It’s so important, especially as a young female, as an adult female, to know how many things we have done to change the world,” Willard said.
Willard also designed large posterboards for each of the “famous cooks” to stand in front of, representing each of their specialties.
Miranda, Arowolo and Guzman were each presented with a $100 gift card to the College of the Canyons bookstore, courtesy of the AAUW, whose main mission is to help students to get more advanced degrees.
