Michelle Tam is an American blogger, food writer, and bestselling

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

author known for recipes and food writing focused on the Paleolithic diet and lifestyle.

Nom Nom Paleo

Wanting to see her adopted diet and lifestyle reflected online, Tam launched her food blog, Nom Nom Paleo, in October 2010. Noted for its humor, high-quality recipes, and distinctive photography, Tam's website has earned multiple awards, including Saveur Magazine’s Best Food Blog Award (Special Diets). By the fall of 2014, Nom Nom Paleo was receiving 110,000 page views per day (3.3 million page views per month), with

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

calling Tam "something of a

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pub ...

of Paleo." Tam's first cookbook, ''Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans'', became a

New York Times bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

, and was recognized as one of the Best of the Best Cookbooks of 2013, as well as one of the best cookbooks of 2014 by Serious Eats and

America's Test Kitchen ''America's Test Kitchen'' (originally ''America's Test Kitchen from Cook's Illustrated Magazine'') is a half-hour long cooking show broadcast by PBS and Create. Originally hosted by Christopher Kimball, the program currently is co-hosted by Jul ...

. Six months after the cookbook's release, Tam's publisher reported that it was in its seventh printing, with 150,000 copies in print. In March 2015, Tam's cookbook was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. In 2014, Tam's Nom Nom Paleo cooking app for the iPhone and

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...

earned a People's Voice Webby Award in the Lifestyle (Tablet & All Other Devices) category. Tam's second cookbook, ''Ready or Not!'', debuted in August 2017 on the

list, and reached #1 on both the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' Bestsellers List and the ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' Bestsellers List for Hardcover Nonfiction. Best known for her focus on the

Paleo __NOTOC__ ''Paleo'' may refer to: Prehistoric Era, Age, or Period * Paleolithic, a prehistoric Era, Age, or Period of human history People * David Strackany, aka "Paleo", an American folk singer-songwriter Art, entertainment, and media * ''P ...

lifestyle, Tam is also widely recognized as an "early adherent of sous vide cooking" and an "early convert" to Instant Pot pressure cooking. Tam has also garnered praise from noted culinary professionals like

Michael Ruhlman Michael Carl Ruhlman (born July 28, 1963) is an American author, home cook and entrepreneur. He has written or co-authored more than two dozen books, including non-fiction, fiction, memoir, and books on cooking. He has co-authored many books w ...

and

Christopher Kimball Christopher Kimball is an American editor, publisher, and radio and TV personality. He is notable as one of the founders of ''America's Test Kitchen'' and ''Cook's Country'' and as the creator of ''Christopher Kimball's Milk Street''. Early lif ...

. Tam and her work have been featured across various media outlets, including

CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center i ...

, Serious Eats,

The Kitchn Apartment Therapy is a lifestyle blogs and publishing company focused on home design and decor. The website was founded in 2004 and is currently led by Maxwell Ryan. A companion blog, The Kitchn, is dedicated to home cooking, kitchen design, and ...

Epicurious ''Epicurious'' is an American digital brand that focuses on food and cooking-related topics. Created by Condé Nast in 1995, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, where it is part of the publisher's Foo ...

Sunset Magazine ''Sunset'' is a lifestyle magazine in the United States. ''Sunset'' focuses on homes, cooking, gardening, and travel, with a focus almost exclusively on the Western United States. The magazine is published six times per year by the Sunset Publish ...

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

, and

The Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. ...

. She maintains a partnership with

Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A US ...

, which has featured her recipes and product selections in store locations and online.

Personal life

A native of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, Tam received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Food Science from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. After earning a Doctorate of Pharmacy from the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...

, she worked as a full-time night-shift hospital pharmacist. Tam is married to her co-author and collaborator, Henry Fong. Together with their two young sons, they divide their time between

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...

and

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

References

External links

Nom Nom Paleo
blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Tam, Michelle 1974 births Living people University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, San Francisco alumni People from Menlo Park, California People from Palo Alto, California Writers from Portland, Oregon American bloggers American cookbook writers American food writers Women cookbook writers Women food writers Paleolithic diet advocates 21st-century American non-fiction writers American women bloggers 21st-century American women writers

Nom Nom Paleo

Personal life

See also

References

External links