The World-Famous Ratner’s Meatless Cookbook was written by Judith Gethers and Elizabeth Lefft. The cookbook itself does not feature any information about the two women, and there appear to be no photographs of either author available online. Gethers herself was the daughter of Jacob Harmatz, the founder of Ratner’s Dairy Restaurant, and Lefft was her niece. The late Gethers (1922-2016) took her first job at the age of 53 running the cooking school Ma Cuisine at Ma Maison, later earning the nickname “Ma of Ma Maison”, teaching alongside Julia Child, Maida Heatter and Paula Wolfort. In addition to her contributions in The World Famous Ratner’s Meatless Cookbook, she authored or co-authored five other cookbooks, including The Fabulous Food Processor Cookbook published in 1981. Her obituary, the main source of personal information on Gethers, was published in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times from February 23to February 28, 2016.