Marian Burros (born in Waterbury, Connecticut) is a cookbook author, and was food columnist for The New York Times, a position she held from 1981 to 2014.[1][2] Before joining the Times, Burros was The Washington Post's food editor and a consumer reporter for an NBC affiliate, a position for which she won an Emmy Award.[3]
Marian Burros
| |
|---|---|
| Born | Marian Fox |
| Alma mater | Wellesley College |
| Occupation | food columnist |
| Years active | 1974 – 2008 |
| Children | 2 |
Burros also worked for NBC Radio Network News, United Features, The Washington Daily News and The Washington Star.[3]
Burros graduated with a degree in English literature from Wellesley College in 1954.[4]
Alongside her friend Lois Levine, Burros assembled a self-published cookbook, "Elegant but Easy," which was picked up by Macmillan Publishing in 1960. It eventually sold 500,000 copies.[5]
In 1968, became the editor of the food section at The Washington Star, where she emphasized the role politics can play in food through federal decisions impacting food safety regulations.[6] From 1969 until 1974, she had a syndicated column through United Features, titled "Chef Marian's Dish of the Day," after which she became food editor for The Washington Post (1974 to 1981).[4] She started with The New York Times in 1981.
Burros is credited for being among the first food writers in the 1970's to apply investigative journalistic standards to the field.[7] She was the first to break the story of ITT Continental Baking Company's reduced-calorie, high-fiber Fresh Horizons Bread, which contained powdered cellulose, derived from wood pulp.[8] [9] In 1974, she was a founding member and first vice-president of the Association of Food Journalists, an organization formed to set standards of journalistic objectivity for food writers.[7]
Burros has won numerous awards, including an Emmy in 1973 for her consumer reporting on WRC-TV; the American Association of University Women Mass Media Award for consumer reporting and nutrition education; a 1988 citation from the National Press Club for her coverage of food safety issues in The Times; and a Penney-Missouri Award.[4] Her cookbooks and feature writing have won five James Beard Foundation awards.[10]
She has received a National Press Club citation (for food safety coverage), the American Association of University Women Mass Media Award and is a three-time winner of the Vesta Award.[3][4]
After retiring, Burros received recognition for her career of reporting on the politics of food, health, nutrition, agriculture, and food safety. These included the Wellesley College Alumnae Achievement award in 2016 and the Association of Food Journalists Award in 2017.[11]
She has two children and lives in Bethesda, Maryland.[3]