John T. Edge

John T. Edge is a contributing editor at Gourmet. He has written for the New York Times, and is columnist for the Oxford American, the U.S. Airways in-flight magazine, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His work for Saveur and other magazines has been featured in every edition of the Best Food Writing compilation since 2001. John has been nominated for four James Beard Foundation Awards and was a 2004 finalist for the M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award, also from the James Beard Foundation.

Edge holds a master’s degree in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi. (He wrote his thesis on potlikker.) Edge is director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, where he dedicates his time to documenting and celebrating the diverse food cultures of America.

John has a number of books to his credit, including the James Beard Award-nominated cookbook, A Gracious Plenty: Recipes and Recollections from the American South. He is editor of the foodways volume of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Putnam published a four-book series on iconic American eats: Fried Chicken: An American Story, Apple Pie: An American Story, and Hamburgers & Fries: An American Story, and Donuts: An American Passion. Algonquin Books has published a revised and expanded edition of Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover’s Companion to the South.

John serves as culinary curator for the weekend edition of NPR’s All Things Considered. He has been featured on dozens of television shows, from CBS Sunday Morning to Iron Chef. Edge lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his son, Jess, and his wife, Blair Hobbs, teacher, and painter. His website is www.johntedge.com.

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