Gilbert Stanley Marks was born in Charleston, West Virginia on May 30, 1952. He received a bachelor's degree, master's degrees in social work and history, and rabbinical ordination from Yeshiva University. He worked as a guidance counselor and history teacher at Yeshiva University High School for Boys and as a social worker in Philadelphia.
He was best known as a historian of Jewish food and culture. He wrote several books including The World of Jewish Cooking, Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, and Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities around the World, which won a James Beard Award in 2005. He died of lung cancer on December 5, 2014 at the age of 62.
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