Ruth Reichl Bio, Age, Family, Husband, Education, Cookbooks, Gourmet

Ruth Reichl Biography

Ruth Reichl is a chef, culinary writer, and editor from the United States. Reichl has written cookbooks, memoirs, and a novel, as well as serving as co-producer of PBS’s Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie, culinary editor for the Modern Library, host of PBS’s Gourmet’s Adventures With Ruth, and editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. She is the recipient of six James Beard Foundation Awards.

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How old is Ruth Reichl? – Age

She is 75 years old as of 16 January 2023. She was born in 1948 in Greenwich Village, New York, United States.

Ruth Reichl Family – Education

Reichl was born in Greenwich Village to Ernst, a typographer, and Miriam (née Brudno), her German-Jewish refugee father and American-Jewish mother. She was raised in Greenwich Village and attended a boarding school in Montreal as a child. She studied sociology at the University of Michigan, where she met her first husband, artist Douglas Hollis, in 1968. She received her M.A. in art history from the University of Michigan in 1970.

Ruth Reichl Husband

Reichl has one son with her husband, Michael Singer. They are residents of Spencertown, New York.

Ruth Reichl Net Worth

She has an estimated net worth of $1.5 Million.

Ruth Reichl Career

From 1973 to 1977, Reichl and Hollis relocated to Berkeley, California, where she joined the collectively owned Swallow Restaurant as a chef and co-owner. Mmmmm: was the beginning of Reichl’s food writing career. 1972’s A Feastiary, a cookbook. In 1978, she became a food writer and editor for New West magazine. From 1984 to 1993, she worked as a restaurant editor and food critic for the Los Angeles Times. In 1993, she started working as a restaurant critic for The New York Times, returning to her hometown of New York City. She left the Times in 1999 to become the editor of Gourmet, a position she held until the publication’s closure in 2009. As of March 2007, the magazine sold 988,000 copies per month during her tenure and commissioned works like “Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace.

Ruth Reichl Photo
Ruth Reichl Photo

She was well-known for her ability to “make or break” a restaurant with her meticulousness. “Demystify the world of fine cuisine” was Reichl’s goal. She was very open about the reasons she stoppedpe, despite her success and stories about how she used to disguise herself while reviewing. She was honored six times with a James Beard Award. Reichl served as a judge on the seasons 3, 4, and 5 of the Bravo reality show Top Chef Masters from 2011 to 2013. Reichl joined Substack in 2021 to start publishing a food writing newsletter.