Melissa Clark is an American

food writer Food writing is a genre of writing that focuses on food and includes works by food critics, food journalists, chefs and food historians. Definition Food writers regard food as a substance and a cultural phenomenon. John T. Edge, an American food ...

, cookbook author and ''

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 ...

'' columnist. She is the author of over 40 cookbooks and has received multiple awards from the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

and IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) for her work. Clark is a regular guest on

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

such as ''Today'' show, ''

Rachael Ray Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968) is an American cook, television personality, businesswoman, and author. She hosts the syndicated daily talk and lifestyle program '' Rachael Ray'', and the Food Network series ''30 Minute Meals'' ...

'' and '' Iron Chef America'' and on radio programmes such as ''

The Splendid Table ''The Splendid Table'' is a weekly radio program about food hosted by Francis Lam. The program began in 1997 on Minnesota Public Radio, and was originally hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper until her retirement in 2017. It is produced and distribu ...

'' on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

and '' The Leonard Lopate Show'' on

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that ...

Early life and education

Clark is the daughter of Dr. Julian Clark and Dr. Rita Clark, both of whom were practising psychiatrists.Rebecca Shapiro
Supper Club: New York Times food writer Melissa Clark '90BC, '94SOA invites everyone to the table
''Columbia Magazine'' (summer 2017). She is a third-generation

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

ite and grew up in the Ditmas Park neighborhood.Raquel Pelzel
In the Kitchen With Melissa Clark
''Edible Brooklyn'' (Spring 2013), issue 29. Her parents were avid home cooks, influenced by Julia Child. As a child, Clark spent the month of August with her family each year in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, France. Clark is Jewish. Clark attended Stuyvesant High School and then

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

, where she studied English and history and wrote a thesis on the role of food in ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

''. She graduated in 1990, then in 1994 earned an MFA from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

,Lizzy Goodman
Elbowing for Scallops With Melissa Clark
''Taste'' (April 24, 2017). where she took a food-writing class taught by Betty Fussell.

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.Angelina Chapin
How I Get It Done: Melissa Clark
''The Cut'' (October 16, 2017). In 2007, she began her weekly "A Good Appetite" column at ''The New York Times'',Jennifer Barger
Face Time: Melissa Clark
''Washington Post'' (December 2, 2011). She became a full-time staff writer at the ''Times'' in 2012, writing about 65 recipes each year for the newspaper. Clark has frequently described herself as "an advocate for the home cook" and "the voice of the home cook" in interviews. In 2015, Clark gained attention for a recipe for

guacamole Guacamole (; (informally shortened to ''guac'' in the United States since the 1980s) is an avocado-based dip, spread, or salad first developed in Mexico. In addition to its use in modern Mexican cuisine, it has become part of international cuisi ...

with

green pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

s that she had reported on a few years earlier (the recipe was created as a collaboration between chef

Jean-Georges Vongerichten Jean-Georges Vongerichten (; ; born in Alsace, France, on 16 March 1957) is a French chef.

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 Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

and former Governor of Florida

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...

, who all disapproved of her addition of peas to the traditional recipe ingredients. Clark's most favored ingredient is

anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

, which she praises for their versatility. Clark has written more than 40 cookbooks, including ''Braise: A Journey Through International Cuisine'' (2007), with

Daniel Boulud Daniel Boulud (born 25 March 1955 in Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu) is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Toronto, Montréal, Singapore, the Bahamas, the Berkshires and Dubai. He is best known f ...

; ''East of Paris'' with David Bouley; ''The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern'' with Claudia Fleming, the former pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern in New York; and ''Cook This Now'' (2011), which focuses on seasonal cooking. Clark's cookbook ''Dinner: Changing the Game'' won an award in 2018 from the

International Association of Culinary Professionals The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) is a United States-based not-for-profit professional association whose members work in culinary education, communication, or the preparation of food and beverage. History The organizati ...

.Tim Carman
Food association gives top cookbook award to its CEO, prompting outrage — and a new policy
''Washington Post'' (March 13, 2018). For ''The New Essentials of French Cooking'', which was published in print and a
a series of articles
on ''NYT Cooking'', Clark won the 2018 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for innovative storytelling. In 2019, Clark hosted a podcast series, ''Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark'', produced by

Personal life

Clark has married two times. In 1993, she wed Max Jonson. She is now married to Daniel Gercke, with whom she has a daughter, Dahlia. The family lives in

Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Prospect Heights is a neighborhood in the northwest of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The traditional boundaries are Flatbush Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Eastern Parkway – beginning at Grand Army Plaza – to the ...

References

External links

Official websiteMelissa Clark's articles and recipes
in ''

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 d ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Melissa Living people Writers from Brooklyn American cookbook writers American food writers Barnard College alumni The New York Times columnists American women columnists People from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Year of birth missing (living people) Columbia University School of the Arts alumni James Beard Foundation Award winners