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Alan Richman

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Not to be confused with Alan Rickman.
Alan Richman
Born (1944-01-25) January 25, 1944 (age 80)
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)Journalist, food writer

Alan Richman (born January 25, 1944)[1] is an American journalist and food writer. He was a food correspondent for GQ magazine, and has won 16 James Beard Foundation Awards for journalism.

Early life and education

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Richman is a graduate of the General Honors Program at the University of Pennsylvania.[2] He was a cadet in the Army ROTC, rose to the rank of captain on active duty and served two tours in the United States Army, including one in South Vietnam, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star. He also served in the earlier U.S. invasion and occupation of the Dominican Republic.[3]

Career

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Richman began his career as a sportswriter in Philadelphia in the 1970s, covering the 76ers for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.[4] He later worked as a sports columnist and, using a pseudonym, as restaurant critic for the Montreal Star. Richman began writing for GQ in 1986.[5]

Richman has won 16 James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards for excellence in culinary writing,[6] including two in 2009 for Magazine Feature Writing Without Recipes and Writing on Spirits, Wine, or Beer.[7] He won a National Magazine Award in 1995 for three articles that appeared in GQ.[8]

In 2004, HarperCollins published Fork It Over: The Intrepid Adventures of a Professional Eater, a collection of Richman's essays about food and dining.[9]

Richman served as the dean of food journalism at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, teaching "The Craft of Food Writing".

In 2006, Richman caused a controversy after criticizing the cuisine of New Orleans and questioning the existence of the Creole ethnicity.[10]

In 2009, celebrity chefs David Chang and Anthony Bourdain criticized Richman for "his insistence that celebrity chefs actually cook in their own restaurants."[11] Bourdain's 2010 book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook, contains a chapter entitled "Alan Richman Is a Douchebag" expounding on his view of Richman. In the same chapter Bourdain also said, Alan Richman is so loathsome he lacks "the gravitas required to be called an asshole".[12]

References

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  1. ^ Gernstetter, Blake (April 28, 2010). "So What Do You Do, Alan Richman, Food Writer?". Mediabistro. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  2. ^ "Weddings; Lettie Teague, Alan Richman". The New York Times. October 2, 1994. Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  3. ^ "From Pagano's to Pop's". Penn Arts and Sciences. Winter 1998.
  4. ^ "The Only Game in Town: The Death of Sportswriting". GQ. August 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  5. ^ "Alan Richman: Meet GQ's fearless food and wine critic". GQ. 7 February 2006.
  6. ^ "A Toast to Alan Richman". GQ, May 4, 2009. 4 May 2009.
  7. ^ "2009 James Beard Foundation Awards Winners Announced" (PDF). James Beard Foundation. May 4, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 20, 2009.
  8. ^ "National Magazine Awards Searchable Database". American Society of Magazine Editors. Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  9. ^ Severson, Kim (October 29, 2004). "Book Capsule Review: Fork it Over". Entertainment Weekly.
  10. ^ Severson, Kim (December 6, 2006). "'Faerie Folk' Strike Back With Fritters". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  11. ^ "Ten Things Anthony Bourdain and David Chang Hate". New York Magazine, Alexandra Peers, October 10, 2009.
  12. ^ Ozersky, Josh (June 8, 2010). "In Medium Raw, Bourdain Is the Last Honest Man". Time. Archived from the original on June 10, 2010.
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