Ruth Reichl

One of the most respected and renowned food writers of her time, Ruth Reichl had expertise both inside the kitchen and out. Born in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, Reichl earned an MFA in art history from the University of Michigan in 1970. Soon after graduating however, Reichl found herself on the West coast where her lifelong interest in food and cooking came to dominate her career ambitions over her prestigious graduate degree. In 1972 she published her first book, Mmmmm: A Feastiary, and became the chef and co-owner of the Berkley eatery Swallow Restaurant, two endeavors that both made her a part of the revolution in food culture that would sweep the 1970s. She became the food writer and editor of New West magazine the following year, before moving on to become the restaurant editor for the Los Angeles Times from 1984 to 1993. It was during this time that Reichl began donning professional disguises-complete with fully realized personnas-in order to review the food and service of restaurants without receiving special treatment. She would continue these methods as the restaurant critic for the New York Times from 1993 until 1999, at which point she published the memoir Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table, and moved on to become the editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. When Conde Nast finally shuttered the publication ten years later, Reichl published her first cookbook in over two decades, Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen, and quickly switched gears to begin hosting the series "Gourmet Adventures with Ruth" (PBS, 2009). Reichl would make regular appearances on food-related TV, memorably serving as a celebrity judge on "Top Chef Masters" (Bravo, 2009-), but food writing would remain her mainstay. She published her first novel, Delicious!, in 2014, as well as a memoir about her days at Gourmet titled Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir.