Ruth Reichl

Ruth Reichl is a distinguished American chef, food writer, and magazine editor. She has significantly influenced, as well as enriched the contemporary culinary world with her writings and culinary prowess over the past few decades.

Reichl’s career in the food industry began in 1970 when she started cooking at a collective restaurant in California known as the Swallow. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was a restaurant critic for New West and California magazines. She later became the editor-in-chief of the prestigious and widely read food and wine magazine, Gourmet, from 1999 to 2009. During this period, Reichl steered the publication to win numerous James Beard awards, including the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, amongst many others.

Reichl is also known to be a prolific author of cookbooks, with her best known work, “My Kitchen Year,” released in 2015. It provides over 130 recipes as well as a chronicle of her emotional exploration of food following the abrupt closure of Gourmet Magazine.

Before she joined the magazine industry, Reichl was a renowned food critic for both the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, where she garnered massive acclaim and fandom for her unique and descriptive writing style and famously incognito colours disguises.

Reichl has also been a widely recognized figure on television, hosting three food-related series on The Food Network. Notably, “Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie,” which won a James Beard Award for Best Television Food Show.

Overall, Ruth Reichl has undeniably left an indelible footprint in the culinary world with her exceptional writing, culinary expertise, and unwavering passion for food. Her legacy will undoubtedly endure for many decades to come, and she has inspired and will continue to inspire many in the food industry.