Francis Lam is an American food journalist, cookbook editor, and since 2017 the host of American Public Media's The Splendid Table.

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Lam in 2011

Early life and education

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Lam was born to Chinese immigrant parents living in New Jersey and working in Manhattan's Chinatown, where they operated a small garment factory.[1] His mother wanted him to go to business, dental, or medical school.[1] Lam remembers trying to hide his "stinky lunches" from schoolmates and that he "wanted to eat what white people ate."[1]

Lam attended the University of Michigan, where he majored in creative writing and Asian studies, graduating in 1997.[1][2] He graduated first in his class[2] from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in 2003.[1][3]

Career

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After graduating from Michigan, Lam moved back to New York and worked as a grant writer for non-profit organizations before attending CIA.[1]

While at CIA, he wrote emails to friends describing his experiences.[1] The emails got passed around, and he was contacted by an editor at Financial Times who had read some of them and asked Lam to write for the publication.[1] In 2004 he met Ruth Reichl, then editor of Gourmet, and started freelancing for Gourmet.[1]

In 2007 he received a contract from Gourmet for regular work.[1] At the time he was living in Biloxi, Mississippi, working part-time for a non-profit helping with cleanup after Hurricane Katrina. In 2009 he moved back to New York.[1]

He has written for Food & Wine, Salon[4] and Bon Appétit and wrote a regular column, Eat,[5] about immigrant cooking for New York Times Magazine.[3][6]

In 2013 he became editor-at-large[7] at Clarkson Potter, editing cookbooks.[8][9][10] One of his first acquisitions was Victuals: An Appalachian Journey by Ronni Lundy.[1][11] He also acquired Tacos: Recipes and Provocations by Alex Stupak and Jordana Rothman, Food of Northern Thailand by Austin Bush, The Jemima Code by Toni Tipton-Martin, Night Market by Kris Yenbamroong, Chrissy Teigen's Cravings,[8] Eat a Little Better by Sam Kass,[1] and Ryan Jacobs' Truffle Underground.[12]

He was a contributor to and guest host for American Public Media’s The Splendid Table radio show from 2010 until being named in 2017 as the replacement for retiring host Lynne Rossetto Kasper.[8][13] He served two seasons as a judge for Top Chef Masters.[1][3][6][14] He is a board member for Southern Foodways Alliance.[15]

Personal life

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Lam met his wife, Christine Gaspar,[16] in Biloxi, Mississippi, while they were both working for organizations helping rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.[1] They married in July 2013.[16] They live in New York City and have a daughter.[1]

Awards

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Writing

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  • 2017 James Beard Foundation Award for Journalism/Humor for Recipes with Roots: The True Meaning of Turkey in Cooking Light[17]
  • 2017 James Beard Foundation Award forJournalism/Column for Eat in New York Times Magazine (two awards)[17]
  • 2017 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) for Food-Focused Column in New York Times Magazine[18]
  • 2016 James Beard Foundation Award forJournalism/Column for Eat in New York Times Magazine[17]
  • 2016 IACP for Narrative Food Writing for What Edna Lewis Knew in New York Times Magazine[19]
  • 2016 IACP for Food Focused Column for New York Times Magazine[19]
  • 2014 James Beard Foundation Award forJournalism/Profile for A Day on Long Island with Alex Lee in Lucky Peach[17]

Editing

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  • 2018 IACP for Best Single Subject for Hello, My Name Is Ice Cream: The Art and Science of the Scoop by Dana Cree[20]
  • 2017 James Beard Award winner for both Best American Book and Book of the Year for Victuals: An Appalachian Journey by Ronni Lundy[11][21]
  • 2017 IACP for American Cookbook for Victuals: An Appalachian Journey by Ronni Lundy[18]
  • 2016 IACP for Best Chefs and Restaurants for Tacos: Recipes and Provocations by Alex Stupak and Jordana Rothman[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Weissman, Michaele (January 26, 2018). "How Francis Lam, son of immigrants, became the voice of America's food culture". Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  2. ^ a b "Food for Thought". Michigan Alumnus. 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  3. ^ a b c Krystal, Becky (February 7, 2017). "'The Splendid Table' radio show announces a new host: Francis Lam". Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  4. ^ Stein, Joshua David (2010-08-31). "Francis Lam on Ruth Reichl, Gourmet 2.0, and Barry Sanders". Eater. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  5. ^ Crowley, Chris (7 February 2017). "'The Splendid Table' Names Francis Lam as New Host". Grub Street. Archived from the original on 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  6. ^ a b Mannheimer, Emma (2018-02-26). "Francis Lam on Drinking & Entertaining at Home". Imbibe Magazine. Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  7. ^ "Francis Lam Joins Clarkson Potter As Editor-at-Large". Grub Street. 15 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-09-29. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  8. ^ a b c John, Steven (2019-05-23). "Francis Lam on Storytelling Techniques, Trend Fatigue, and Avocado Toast". Grub Street. Archived from the original on 2019-06-13. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  9. ^ "Francis Lam is on a Bleisure Trip to Thailand". Roads & Kingdoms. 2019-03-18. Archived from the original on 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  10. ^ Rainey, Clint (2018-02-09). "America's Food Writers Reveal the Food Words They Can't Spell". Grub Street. Archived from the original on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  11. ^ a b "Host Francis Lam wins multiple 2017 James Beard Media Awards". www.splendidtable.org. Archived from the original on 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  12. ^ Aaron, Shulman (July 14, 2019). "Rooting Out the Dirt: A Conversation with Ryan Jacobs". Los Angeles Review of Books. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  13. ^ "'It's just kind of sad': Minnesota pride takes a hit as our radio shows move to New York". Star Tribune. 29 June 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  14. ^ Rosner, Helen (2016-12-12). "Francis Lam Wants You to Tell Your Story". Eater. Archived from the original on 2017-02-28. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  15. ^ "Francis Lam". Sun Valley Writers' Conference. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  16. ^ a b Lange, Caroline (2013-07-09). "Food Writer Francis Lam and Christine Gaspar Marry". The Daily Meal. Archived from the original on 2014-09-02. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  17. ^ a b c d "Francis Lam James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  18. ^ a b Filloon, Whitney (2017-03-06). "Here Are the 2017 IACP Cookbook Award Winners". Eater. Archived from the original on 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  19. ^ a b c "International Association of Culinary Professionals 2016 Awards Winners" (PDF). www.iacp.com. 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  20. ^ "2018 International Association of Culinary Professionals Awards Winners" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  21. ^ "Francis Lam Wins Mulitple[sic] James Beard Awards". American Public Media. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28. Retrieved 2019-07-17.