The five chefs honored on these stamps — James Beard, Julia Child, Joyce Chen, Edna Lewis, and Felipe Rojas-Lombardi — revolutionized our understanding of food. Seeing cooking as a source of delight, they invited us to feast on regional and international flavors and were early but ardent champions of trends that many foodies now take for granted. As they shared their know-how, they encouraged us to undertake our own culinary adventures.

Julia Child (1912–2004) demystified French cuisine in the United States. Her extremely popular television shows and cookbooks made her synonymous with American cooking for more than 40 years, and she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003.