Melissa Clark

Last updated
Melissa Clark
Born Brooklyn, New York
Occupation
Nationality American
Education Barnard College (BA)
Columbia University (MFA)
Years active2007 – Present
Notable awards2001 James Beard Award for "Vegetarian Publication"
2018 James Beard Award for "Innovative Storytelling"
Spouses
Max Jonson
​
(m. 1993)​
, div. [1]
Daniel Gercke
​
(m. 2007)​
[2]
Children1
Website
melissaclark.net

Melissa Clark is an American food writer, cookbook author and New York Times columnist. She is the author of over 40 cookbooks and has received multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation and IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) for her work. [3] Clark is a regular guest on television series such as Today show, Rachael Ray and Iron Chef America and on radio programmes such as The Splendid Table on NPR and The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC. [4] [5]

Contents

Early life and education

Clark is the daughter of Julian Clark and Rita Clark, both of whom were practicing psychiatrists. [6] [7] She is a third-generation Brooklynite and grew up in the Ditmas Park neighborhood. [8] Her parents were avid home cooks, influenced by Julia Child. [7] As a child, Clark spent the month of August with her family each year in Provence, France. [7] Clark is Jewish. [9]

Clark attended Stuyvesant High School [7] [8] and then Barnard College, where she studied English and history and wrote a thesis on the role of food in Don Quixote . She graduated in 1990, [10] then in 1994 [10] earned an MFA from Columbia University, [11] where she took a food-writing class taught by Betty Fussell. [7]

Career and works

In her early career, Clark was a freelance writer for various publications, including the New York Times, and worked in "front of house" jobs at restaurants. [12] In 2007, she began her weekly "A Good Appetite" column at The New York Times, [12] [13] She became a full-time staff writer at the Times in 2012, [11] writing about 65 recipes each year for the newspaper. [12] Clark has frequently described herself as "an advocate for the home cook" [12] and "the voice of the home cook" in interviews. [11]

In 2015, Clark gained attention for a recipe for guacamole with green peas that she had reported on a few years earlier (the recipe was created as a collaboration between chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and chef de cuisine Ian Coogan for Vongerichten's restaurant ABC Cocina); the piece was re-tweeted by The New York Times and attracted viral feedback, including tweets from President Barack Obama and former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush, who all disapproved of her addition of peas to the traditional recipe ingredients. [14] [15] [16] Clark's most favored ingredient is anchovies, which she praises for their versatility. [12]

Clark has written more than 40 cookbooks, [12] including Braise: A Journey Through International Cuisine (2007), with Daniel Boulud; [17] East of Paris with David Bouley; The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern with Claudia Fleming, [8] the former pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern in New York; [18] and Cook This Now (2011), which focuses on seasonal cooking. [19] [20] Clark's cookbook Dinner: Changing the Game won an award in 2018 from the International Association of Culinary Professionals. [3] For The New Essentials of French Cooking, which was published in print and as a series of articles on NYT Cooking, Clark won the 2018 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for innovative storytelling. [21]

In 2019, Clark hosted a podcast series, Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark, produced by The Splendid Table. [22]

Personal life

Clark has married three times. [23]

Her first marriage was in 1993, to a Swede, Max Jonson. [1]

In 2007, she married her third husband, [24] Daniel Gercke, with whom she has a daughter, Dahlia. [10] The family lives in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. [25]

Related Research Articles

Amanda Hesser is an American food writer, editor, cookbook author and entrepreneur. Most notably, she was the food editor of The New York Times Magazine, the editor of T Living, a quarterly publication of The New York Times, author of The Essential New York Times Cookbook which was a New York Times bestseller, and co-founder and CEO of Food52.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Beard</span> American chef (1903–1985)

James Andrews Beard was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside, Oregon, and lectured widely. He emphasized American cooking, prepared with fresh, wholesome, American ingredients, to a country just becoming aware of its own culinary heritage. Beard taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. He published more than twenty books, and his memory is honored by his foundation's annual James Beard Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookbook</span> Book of recipes with instructions

A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.

Sara Moulton is an American cookbook author and television personality. In an article for The New York Times, Kim Severson described Moulton as "one of the nation’s most enduring recipe writers and cooking teachers...and a dean of food television and magazines".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcella Hazan</span> Italian-born American cookbook author

Marcella Hazan was an Italian cooking writer whose books were published in English. Her cookbooks are credited with introducing the public in the United States and the United Kingdom to the techniques of traditional Italian cooking. She was considered by chefs and fellow food writers to be the doyenne of Italian cuisine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Ruhlman</span> American author and entrepreneur

Michael Carl Ruhlman is an American author, home cook and entrepreneur.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper is an American food writer and radio journalist. She was the founding host of the American Public Media program The Splendid Table, whose targeted audience is "people who love to eat." The weekly program features a series of interviews with chefs, restaurateurs, and wine experts. Guests vary from week to week, but the show frequently included a segment with food travelers and authors Jane and Michael Stern. During her episode on February 10, 2017, Lynne announced her retirement from The Splendid Table. She has been replaced by former New York Times Magazine food columnist Francis Lam.

Eileen Yin-Fei Lo was a chef. She authored eleven cookbooks on Chinese cuisine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Nathan</span> American cookbook writer

Joan Nathan is an American cookbook author and newspaper journalist. She has produced TV documentaries on the subject of Jewish cuisine. She was a co-founder of New York's Ninth Avenue Food Festival under then-Mayor Abraham Beame. The Jerusalem Post has called her the "matriarch of Jewish cooking".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanya Holland</span> American chef

Tanya Holland is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, podcast host, writer, and cookbook author. She is known as an expert of soul food. Holland is an alumna of Bravo TV's Top Chef, where she competed on the 15th season. She was the owner of Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland, California, which received national recognition and multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Thielen</span>

Amy Thielen is a chef, food writer, and television personality who focuses on Midwestern cooking and food culture. She is the author of the James Beard award-winning cookbook The New Midwestern Table ISBN 978-0307954879 and Give a Girl a Knife ISBN 978-0307954909. She was also the host of Heartland Table, which debuted in September 2013 on Food Network; season two premiered in March 2014.

Michael Anthony is an American chef.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Solomonov</span> Israeli chef and restaurateur (born 1978)

Michael Solomonov is an Israeli chef known for his restaurants in Center City, Philadelphia. His first restaurant Zahav, founded in 2008, has received national recognition including the James Beard Foundation "Outstanding Restaurant" in 2019. Solomonov was also awarded Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2011, Cookbook of the Year in 2016, and Outstanding Chef in 2017 from the James Beard Foundation. In 2021, The New York Times named his restaurant Laser Wolf as one of "the 50 places in America we're most excited about right now."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pati Jinich</span> Mexican chef and author (born 1972)

Patricia Jinich is a Mexican chef, TV personality, cookbook author, educator, and food writer. She is best known for her James Beard Award-winning and Emmy-nominated public television series Pati's Mexican Table. Her first cookbook, also titled Pati's Mexican Table, was published in March 2013, her second cookbook, Mexican Today, was published in April 2016, and her third cookbook, Treasures of the Mexican Table, was published in November 2021.

Samin Nosrat is an Iranian-American chef, TV host, food writer and podcaster.

Julia Turshen is an American cookbook author, food writer, cook, and food equity advocate. She lectures on food and home cooking and has published four solo books on the subject and has contributed to many others in collaboration or as a writer. She has collaborated with Gwyneth Paltrow, Dana Cowin, and Mario Batali. Her 2020 collaboration with Hawa Hassan, In Bibi's Kitchen, won the 2022 James Beard Foundation award for Best International Cookbook.

Pamela Strobel also known as Princess Pamela is a chef and cookbook author. She is best known for her authentic Southern cooking served in her New York City restaurant The Little Kitchen. Strobel also published a cookbook in 1969, Princess Pamela's Soul Food Cookbook that was featured in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History's exhibit, "Food: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000."

The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize culinary professionals in the United States. The awards recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists each year, and are generally scheduled around James Beard's May birthday.

The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize culinary professionals in the United States. The awards recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists each year, and are generally scheduled around James Beard's May birthday.

The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize culinary professionals in the United States. The awards recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists each year, and are generally scheduled around James Beard's May birthday.

References

  1. 1 2 "WEDDINGS; Melissa Clark, Max Jonson". The New York Times. March 7, 1993.
  2. ↑ "Melissa Clark on Instagram: "Happy anniversary to @danielgercke!! 12 years ago today! And yes, I did indeed wear feathers."". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  3. 1 2 Tim Carman, Food association gives top cookbook award to its CEO, prompting outrage — and a new policy, Washington Post (March 13, 2018).
  4. ↑ "About Melissa". MELISSA CLARK. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  5. ↑ "Melissa Clark | Penguin Random House". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  6. ↑ "WEDDINGS; Melissa Clark, Max Jonson (Published 1993)". The New York Times. 1993-03-07. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Rebecca Shapiro, Supper Club: New York Times food writer Melissa Clark '90BC, '94SOA invites everyone to the table, Columbia Magazine (summer 2017).
  8. 1 2 3 Raquel Pelzel, In the Kitchen With Melissa Clark, Edible Brooklyn (Spring 2013), issue 29.
  9. ↑ A Very Unorthodox Passover, Tablet (April 18, 2019), Unorthodox podcast @ 34:00.
  10. 1 2 3 Shapiro, Rebecca (2017). "Supper Club". Columbia Magazine. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  11. 1 2 3 Lizzy Goodman, Elbowing for Scallops With Melissa Clark, Taste (April 24, 2017).
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Angelina Chapin, How I Get It Done: Melissa Clark, The Cut (October 16, 2017).
  13. ↑ Jennifer Barger, Face Time: Melissa Clark, Washington Post (December 2, 2011).
  14. ↑ Melissa Clark, Green Pea Guacamole, New York Times.
  15. ↑ Erik Wemple, New York Times food editor: 'You don't expect to run into a pea in guacamole', Washington Post (July 1, 2015).
  16. ↑ Greg Morabito & Helen Rosner, Melissa Clark Knows What You Want to Cook for Dinner Tonight, Eater (March 14, 2017).
  17. ↑ New Cookbooks You Might Actually Open, Grub Street (November 2, 2006).
  18. ↑ Melissa Clark, Ice Cream Is a Cold, Sweet Way to Show Off Corn, New York Times (July 31, 2013).
  19. ↑ Caroline Russock, Cook the Book: 'Cook this Now', Seasonal Eats (November 2011).
  20. ↑ Kirkus Review: Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can't Wait to Make by Melissa Clark, Kirkus Reviews (September 18, 2011).
  21. ↑ "The 2018 James Beard Media Award Winners". James Beard Foundation. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  22. ↑ "Introducing Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark". The Splendid Table. 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  23. ↑ "Melissa Clark Will Likely Never Return to Sweden: An Interview". The Village Voice. November 16, 2010.
  24. ↑ Bekiempis, Victoria (2010-11-17). "Melissa Clark Interview Part 2: Marriage Is Not Dependent Upon Cheese". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  25. ↑ Chapin, Angelina (2017-10-16). "How I Get It Done: Melissa Clark". The Cut. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.