Steven Raichlen (born March 11, 1953
) is an American culinary writer, TV host, and novelist.
Early life
Raichlen was born in
Nagoya, Japan.
He grew up in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
, Maryland, US. He is Jewish.
Education
In 1975, Raichlen earned a Bachelor of Arts in French literature from
Reed College.
He received a Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellowship to study medieval cooking in Europe, and was offered a
Fulbright Scholarship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
to study comparative literature. He trained at
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu (French for " The Blue Ribbon") is an international network of hospitality and culinary schools teaching French ''haute cuisine''. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The instituti ...
and La Varenne cooking schools in
Paris.
Writing
Since 1998, Raichlen's books have focused on the culture and practice of global grilling. His 31 books include ''
The Barbecue Bible
''The Barbecue Bible'' by Steven Raichlen (1998, Workman), is the flagship title in a series of cookbooks written on grilling, barbecue, and other forms of outdoor cooking. Rather than focusing specifically on one style of barbecue, Raichlen doc ...
'' (1998, revised in 2008), ''
How to Grill'' (2001), ''
BBQ USA'', ''
Healthy Latin Cooking'', ''
Project Smoke
A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal.
An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...
'' and ''
Project Fire''. His books have been translated into 17 languages. Raichlen also wrote ''
Planet Barbecue!
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young ...
'', the story of his travels to more than 50 countries in search of the best barbecue, published by Workman Publishing in 2010.
Raichlen has written for ''
The New York Times'', ''
National Geographic Traveler'', ''
Food & Wine
''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...
'', ''
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 ...
'' and ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' magazines.
[Barbecue Bible](_blank)
/ref>
Raichlen has been known to further careers of barbecue pitmasters thanks to his writing, including Wayne Mark Schafer, of Baltimore's Pit Beef fame Big Fat Daddy's, who was featured in Raichlen's NY Times article and ''425 Fiery Recipes'' book.
In 2012, he released his first novel, ''Island Apart'', about a Chappaquiddick hermit's developing relationship with a cancer patient.[
]
Television career
Raichlen created the TV show ''Barbecue University'' (aka ''BBQ U''), which aired for four seasons from 2003 to 2006 on American Public Television. From 2008 to 2010 he hosted ''Primal Grill'', again on American Public Television. ''Primal Grill'' focused on the "how-tos" of live fire cooking, employing different grills for each technique. In 2015, he created ''Project Smoke'' on public television, focusing on traditional and cutting-edge techniques in smoked food. and more recently Steven Raichlen's Project Fire. Raichlen also hosts the French-language TV shows ''Le Maitre du Grill'' and ''Les Incontourables du BBQ'' on Zeste in Quebec. His ''Steven Raichlen Grills Italy'' show was launched on Gambero Rosso Channel in Italy in 2018.
He battled and defeated Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michiba
is a Japanese cuisine chef most notable as the first Japanese Iron Chef on the television series ''Iron Chef''. He was on the show from its inception in 1993 until his retirement on his 65th birthday, January 3, 1996. After his retirement as a ...
in a "Battle of the Barbecue Gods" on Japanese television.
He has appeared on numerous television programs and networks including ''Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', '' The Today Show'', '' CBS This Morning'', ''Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
'', '' Oprah'', '' Regis & Kelly'', '' The View'' and '' CNN''.
Other work
Raichlen is the founder of Barbecue University, which offers three-day intensive courses on live fire cooking at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs.
Awards and honors
Raichlen has won five James Beard awards for his cookbooks. ''High-Flavor, Low-Fat Cooking'' won the 1993 award for Best Light and Healthy Cookbook, and his follow-up, ''High-Flavor, Low-Fat Vegetarian Cooking'', won the 1996 award for Best Vegetarian Cookbook.[Star Chefs](_blank)
/ref> In 1999, ''Healthy Latin Cooking'' won the award for Healthy Focus. He also earned the 2001 James Beard Foundation/KitchenAid Book Award for his ''Healthy Jewish Cooking''Barbecue Hall of Fame
The American Royal is a livestock show, horse show, rodeo, and barbecue competition held each year in September – November at various sites in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The Future Farmers of America (now the National FFA Organiza ...
. In 2003, '' Bon Appetit'' named Raichlen “Cooking Teacher of the Year," the same year that ''The Barbecue Bible'', based on his four years of research while traveling 150,000 miles through 25 countries on five continents, won an IACP Julia Child
Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, '' ...
Award.
Personal life
Raichlen's wife is Barbara Raichlen. They live in Coconut Grove, FloridaMartha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...
, Massachusetts.
Publications
Nonfiction
* ''A Taste of the Mountains Cooking School Cookbook'' Poseidon Press, 1986
* ''A Celebration of the Seasons: A Cooks Almanac'' Poseidon Press, 1988
* ''Steven Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low-Fat Cooking.'' . 1992.
* ''Miami Spice : The New Florida Cuisine. '' . 1993.
* ''The Caribbean Pantry Cookbook: Condiments and Seasonings from the Land of Spice and Sun.'' . 1995.
* ''Steven Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low-Fat Vegetarian Cooking.'' . 1995.
* ''Steven Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low-Fat Chicken.'' . 1996.
* ''Steven Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low-Fat Pasta Cookbook.'' . 1996.
* ''Steven Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low Fat Italian Food Cookbook.'' . 1997.
* ''Steven Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low Fat Appetizers.'' . 1997.
* ''Steven Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low Fat Desserts.'' . 1997.
* ''The Barbecue! Bible. '' . 1998.
* ''Steven Raichlen's High-Flavor, Low-Fat Mexican Cooking.'' . 1999.
* ''Barbecue! Bible : Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes. '' . 2000.
* ''Steven Raichlen's Healthy Latin Cooking : 200 Sizzling Recipes from Mexico, Cuba, Caribbean, Brazil, and Beyond.'' . 2000.
* ''Healthy Jewish Cooking. '' . 2000.
* ''How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques, A Barbecue Bible! Cookbook. '' . 2001.
* ''Beer-Can Chicken: And 74 Other Offbeat Recipes for the Grill. '' . 2002.
* ''BBQ USA: 425 Fiery Recipes from All Across America. '' . 2003.
* ''Steven Raichlen's Big Flavor Cookbook: 440 Irresistible and Healthy Recipes from Around the World. '' . 2003.
* ''Indoor Grilling.'' . 2004.
* ''The Best of Barbecue University by Steven Raichlen.'' DVD/Video. 2005.
* ''Raichlen on Ribs, Ribs, Outrageous Ribs.'' . 2006.
* ''Planet Barbecue!'' . 2010.
* ''Bold & Healthy Flavors: 450 Recipes from Around the World'' . 2011.
* ''Man Made Meals: The Essential Cookbook for Guys'' . 2014.
* ''Project Smoke'' . 2016.
* ''Project Fire'' . 2018.
*''The Brisket Chronicles'' . 2019.
Fiction
* ''Island Apart'' , 2012.
References
External links
Official website
Barbecue University with Steven Raichlen official website
Primal Grill with Steven Raichlen official website
Steven Raichlen's Project Smoke official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raichlen, Steven
American television chefs
American male chefs
Barbecue chefs
Reed College alumni
Watson Fellows
Living people
20th-century American Jews
American food writers
American cookbook writers
Alumni of Le Cordon Bleu
21st-century American novelists
American male novelists
1953 births
21st-century American male writers
James Beard Foundation Award winners
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American male non-fiction writers
21st-century American Jews