Corby Kummer
Corby Kummer's work in The Atlantic has established him as one of the most widely read, authoritative, and creative food writers in the United States. The San Francisco Examiner pronounced him "a dean among food writers in America." Julia Child once said, "I think he's a very good food writer. He really does his homework. As a reporter and a writer he takes his work very seriously."
Kummer's 1990 Atlantic series about coffee was heralded by foodies and the general public alike. The response to his recommendations about coffees and coffee-makers was typical—suppliers scrambled to meet the demand. As Giorgio Deluca, co-founder of New York's epicurean grocery Dean & Deluca, says: ''I can tell when Corby's pieces hit; the phone doesn't stop ringing." His book, The Joy of Coffee, based on his Atlantic series, was heralded by The New York Times as "the most definitive and engagingly written book on the subject to date.'' In nominating his work for a National Magazine Award (for which he became a finalist), the editors wrote: "Kummer treats food as if its preparation were something of a life sport: an activity to be pursued regularly and healthfully by knowledgeable people who demand quality." Kummer's book The Pleasures of Slow Food celebrates local artisans who raise and prepare the foods of their regions with the love and expertise that come only with generations of practice.
Kummer was restaurant critic of New York Magazine in 1995 and 1996 and since 1997 has served as restaurant critic for Boston Magazine. He is also a frequent food commentator on television and radio. He was educated at Yale, and came to The Atlantic Monthly in 1981. He is the recipient of three James Beard Journalism Awards, including the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award.
Recent articles by Corby Kummer
Fixing Lunch
Tony Geraci is determined to get healthy food to the kids in Baltimore's public schools.
Lambs to the Slaughter
Shoppers are finding more ways to buy humanely raised meat from close-to-home farms.
Not So Guilty Pleasure
If only somebody could get the cupcake right
[Web only: Video: "The Frosting on the Cupcake"]
Cheese Balls
Mozzarella’s American renaissance.
Torch Song
Remembering the language of lyrics.
Half a Loaf
When bakers break up, who gets custody of the recipes?
Back to The Jungle
"The food-tainting scandals, as much as the economic crisis, are the result of predictably unreliable 'voluntary' industry self-regulation that leaves the foxes guarding the henhouse."
Dining with Dionysus
A cooking school in the Greek islands shows that simplicity plus necessity equals great cuisine. [Web only: Slideshow: "The Grecian Formula"]
The Joyous Peculiarity of David Carr
Corby Kummer—David Carr's editor at The Atlantic—takes stock of Carr's gritty new memoir, The Night of the Gun.
Cooking for a Sunday Day
At Irma’s in Houston, Mexican food is in the right hands—mothers’ and grandmothers’. [Web only: Slideshow: "Lunch With Irma"]
Beyond the McIntosh
One man’s mission to save abandoned (and glorious) apples by helping people plant for the future.
A Papaya Grows in Holyoke
A crime-plagued mill town in Massachusetts has discovered the roots of urban renewal.
Simple Pleasures
Three Tuscan recipes to welcome spring.
Slow Food, High Gear
A new university in Italy aims to elevate gastronomy to an academic discipline—and put its students through a humbling workout. [Web only: Slideshow: "A Slow Food Tour of the Po Valley"]
The Magic Brewing Machine
Cool new coffeemakers bring out the deeper pleasures of a light roast.
The Art of Aging Well
A cult destination in London has revolutionized cheesemaking, winning converts as far afield as Vermont.
The Secret of the Irish Scone
At Camp Bread, in San Francisco, a baker rehabilitates one of the most frequently abused members of the pastry family.
In and Over Scones
Where to find the best scones and toppings.
The Rise of the Sardine
Will Cannery Row’s signature fish transcend its humble reputation to become a chef’s staple? It should.
The Supermarket of the Future
An exciting new Italian bazaar makes Whole Foods look like the A&P—and it’s coming to America.
Never a Dull Moment
What to look for when buying knives.
Cool Cuts
Three must-own knives—and a really desirable optional one.
Fat City
Banning trans fats probably makes sense from a public-health standpoint—but will the doughnut survive?
Northern Comfort
The best way to make rice pudding is always your grandmother’s.
Dumbing Down Wine
Chain stores threaten to destroy independent wineshops— and your chances of finding interesting wine.
Out of the Frying Pan
Dinner cooked in plastic bags may sound more like airplane food than haute cuisine—but today, thanks to a cutting-edge culinary technique, it’s both.
Salmon Time
Our correspondent ventures to Alaska to learn when to eat wild salmon—and how to find it even when it’s not in season.
The Five Main Pacific Salmon
And how they taste.
Wine Therapy
What makes the wines of San Patrignano so distinctive? It’s not just the grapes.
Deliverance
The future of shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Zins Online
A few choice wines for summer, and where to find them.
Sweet Tea
Can one of the world’s oldest drinks help solve one of this country’s newest problems—the sugar epidemic? Two idealistic entrepreneurs think so.
Madrid Fusion
The pleasures and perils of the Spanish gastronomic avant-garde.
Five Chefs Under the Influence
U.S. restaurants at the crest of the Spanish new wave.
The Rioja Renaissance
An old Spanish wine takes on new life.
Spring Chickens
Heirloom poultry is poised to become “the other red meat”—if fears about avian flu don’t keep people away.
Grignolino
Italy's Beaujolais is as rare as good chicken.
Open for Business
A post-Katrina visit to the restaurants of New Orleans, where eating out has become essential group therapy.
The Sazerac
The New Orleans cocktail of choice.
Domestic Reserves
Americans no longer need to look abroad to satisfy their need for oil—Tuscan-style olive oil, that is.
Merlot for Snobs
A Long Island winery is challenging Merlot's deservedly dismal reputation.
Better Bacon
A new cult takes hold.
Sweet Home Louisiana
Sampling artisanal rum from New Orleans—and one of the city's signature desserts.
The Kosher Conversion
The market for kosher food is growing, for reasons both practical and spiritual.
Flavorless No More
Small batch by small batch, the makers of a new artisanal vodka have tapped into the market for America's best-selling spirits.
Good-bye, Cryovac
Imagine college food for which students will fake IDs, write rap songs, and line up outside the dining-hall door.
Principled Pork
"Sustainable farming" is now open to debate and commercial exploitation. But sustainable pork certainly tastes the way pork should.
Going With The Grain
True wild rice, for the past twenty years nearly impossible to find, is slowly being nurtured back to market.
Pride of Place
Oregon's artisan Pinot Noir growers are the garagistes of the Pacific Northwest.
Their Show of Shows
Backstage with a troubled, now legendary Sondheim musical.
Big Organic, Small Organic
Organic food may be coming from bigger and bigger producers, but the best flavor is still coming from organic farms, as a case study of good and great yogurt makes plain.
A New Chestnut
The work of a dedicated few may eventually restore America's blighted chestnut forest to their former vastness. One happy consequence can already be tasted.
Back To Grass
The old way of raising cattle is now the new way—better for the animals and better for your table.
Stuffed Smoked Sablefish
Pacific Northwest ingredients, Asian theme.
Grapes of Gascony
A vintners' cooperative in southwestern France is creating impressive new wines from rare old varieties.
Duck Sauce À La Bidouze
A simple—and libertine—Gascon dish.
Quinoa Soup
A traditional staple of the high, cool Andes.
Sole Cardinale
A variation on a Baltimore seafood legend.
Maine Certified
The potatoes of September.
Champ
A one-dish supper of buttery mashed potatoes and greens.
Il Trappeto & la Peschiera
Restaurants worth building a trip around.
Cal Pep
Restaurants worth building a trip around.
Colvin Run Tavern
Restaurants worth building a trip around.
Fore Street
Restaurants worth building a trip around.
Daniel
Restaurants worth building a trip around.
Moore's Stone Crab
Restaurants worth building a trip around.
Five Lakes Grill
Restaurants worth building a trip around.
Sweet and Intense
The wine that made Ontario famous.
Restaurant Vila Lisa
Introducing a new series: restaurants worth building a trip around.
Potato Salad
The German version is surprisingly light and intensely flavored.
The Stationery Self
There is no substitute for engraved writing paper.
Pesto By Hand
The oldest—and still the best—way to make most people's favorite pasta sauce need not be the most laborious.
Belgian and Bubbly
Belgium's abbey-style ales, now being brewed in America, get their marvelously deep flavors from the méthode champenoise.
An Italian Meal for Autumn
Ricotta Gnocchi with Roasted Wild Mushrooms and Shaved Vegetable Salad.
Pasta
An inquiry into a few fundamental questions: How did spaghetti and meatballs, a dish no Italian recognizes, become so popular here? What makes some brands of pasta much better than others? What's so special about fresh pasta? What do Italians know about cooking pasta that Americans don't?