"Top Chef" winner Hung Huynh begins his stint as executive chef at Solo in the Sony building on March 10, 2008 in New York City.

Should We Expect TV Chefs to Serve “Me on a Plate”?

Asian Americans navigate entrenched attitudes and expectations when it comes to their relationship with food—even while competing on Top Chef.
Fanny Cradock, 1976

The Rise and Fall of Fanny Cradock

Cradock was one of Britain's first celebrity chefs, but in what her viewers called “the Gwen Troake Incident,” she fell from her pedestal—hard.
A grilled cheese sandwich

A Brief History of Comfort Food

Our newest culinary trend is also our oldest.
Compleat Housewife frontispiece

What Amateur Cookbooks Reveal About History

Remember those spiral-bound cookbooks from your church group or your mom’s favorite charity? Those amateur recipe collections are history books, too.
Julia Child's French home

Vacationing with Julia Child

Want to get away this summer? Come daydream with us to the kitchen of Julia Child, in the south of France...
Fields of einkorn

Great Grains: How Ancient Einkorn Became the New “It” Wheat

Einkorn, an ancient grain, is mediocre for baking, difficult to process, and unproductive in the field. Why is it the next food trend?
Colonial kitchen

What “Colonial Kitchens” Say About America

We've been fantasizing about colonial kitchens since soon after the Colonial era itself was over. What's that about?