Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1704

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

2 linear feet (2 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Dion Lerman papers, 1984-2015, Ms. Coll. 1704, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1984-2015 (inclusive)

Creator:

Lerman, Dion, 1956-2024

Abstract:

Dion Lerman (1956-2024) was a chef, food safety expert, environmental health and pest control specialist, and peace and justice organizer. This collection measures 2 linear feet, dates from 1984-2015, and mostly comprises material related to Lerman's career as a chef in Philadelphia restaurants and work as an instructor in Philadelphia-area universities and nonprofits.

Dion Lerman was a Philadelphia-based chef, food safety expert, environmental health and pest control specialist, and peace and justice organizer.

He was born to Martha Ellen Thomas and Omar Khaayam Lerman in Rochester, New York on June 24, 1956. He was raised in New York City and his father was an arts administrator who served as the manager of the American Ballet Theater and the Joffrey Ballet and also worked for the New York State Council on the Arts.

In 1971, Lerman traveled to Cambridge, England where he lived for two years and attended the Perse School for Boys. When he returned to the United States, he enrolled in Harrisburg Area Community College. There, he became involved with Movement for a New Society (MNS), an activist organization that prompted Lerman's 1974 move to Philadelphia. In 1978, Lerman moved to Atlanta where he helped organize a new MNS chapter and was accepted into membership in the Society of Friends.

In his capacity as a chef, Lerman worked as a self-employed caterer and chef from 1975 through 1996; Chef de Partie at Feast Your Eyes Catering from 1993 through 1994; Chef of Serrano from 1991 through 1992; roundsman at White Dog Cafe from 1989 through 1990; and an expediter at Cafe NOLA from 1988 through 1989.

He taught the course, Food Safety First! at Drexel University College of Evening & Professional Studies from 1996 through 2000 and was an adjunct professor at the School of Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Management at Farleigh Dickinson University from 2000 through 2002. There, he taught several courses, including one on the History and Culture of Food.

Lerman received a Bachelor of Science degree magna cum laude in hotel and restaurant management from Drexel University in 2000 and a master's degree in public health from Drexel University in 2017.

From 2002 through 2006, he worked as a chef instructor for the Jobs Café of the Peoples Emergency Center. In this role, he provided culinary and food safety training to formerly unhoused mothers.

Later in his career, Lerman became an Environmental Health Program Specialist at the Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management program at Penn State University. In this capacity, he did trainings for the National Healthy Homes Center and Network and designed a program with the Energy Coordinating Agency, a Philadelphia energy conservation nonprofit, to train people for careers in integrated pest management.

Lerman married Christine Oliger in 1999. Together they participated in numerous organizing and advocacy efforts for a variety of causes and were members of Newtown Meeting. Lerman was additionally active in Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting.

Lerman died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 22, 2024.

Dion Lerman (1956-2024) was a chef, food safety expert, environmental health and pest control specialist, and peace and justice organizer. This collection measures 2 linear feet and dates from 1984-2015 and mostly comprises material related to Lerman's career as a chef in Philadelphia restaurants and work as an instructor in Philadelphia-area universities and nonprofits.

This collection is of use to researchers looking to learn about Philadelphia restaurants in the late 1980s and 1990s or are looking into the logistics of a commercial kitchen.

Series I. Catering contains recipes, menu planning, and some client correspondence from Lerman's work as a private chef and caterer.

Series II. Instruction contains slides, resources including articles and other research and reference material, and syllabi, manuals, and other documentation from his work as an instructor at Drexel University, Farleigh Dickinson University, JOBS Cafe, and MANNA Cafe.

Series III. Restaurants mostly contains menus, menu planning, and recipes from Lerman's time as a chef at various Philadelphia restaurants such as Serrano and White Dog Cafe.

Series IV. Other professional material mostly contains menus and recipes both created and collected by Lerman that are not associated with any specific restaurant or position.