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J. Kenji López-Alt

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J. Kenji López-Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
López-Alt in November 2019
Born
James Kenji López-Alt

Other namesKenji López-Alt
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology

James Kenji López-Alt, known as J. Kenji López-Alt or Kenji, is an American chef and food writer.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

He was born James Kenji Alt, the son of Harvard University geneticist and immunologist Frederick Alt, and on his mother's side, the grandson of chemist Koji Nakanishi.[5] López-Alt graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2002, where he majored in Architecture.[6] His first restaurant job was during his sophomore year of college. He attempted to take a job as a waiter at a local restaurant, but they needed a prep cook.[7]

Upon marriage, López-Alt combined his birth surname, Alt, with that of his wife Adriana López.[5][8]

Career

López-Alt worked with several Boston chefs including Barbara Lynch and Ken Oringer.[9] He went on to work as a test cook and editor at Cook's Illustrated magazine and America's Test Kitchen.[10]

He was the Managing Culinary Director and is the Chief Culinary Consultant of "Serious Eats", a food blog, where he authors the James Beard Award-nominated column "The Food Lab".[11][12] He is also a columnist for The New York Times[13] and Cooking Light.[14]

His first book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, was published in September 2015 by W. W. Norton & Company.[15] It was a New York Times Bestseller[16] and won the 2016 James Beard Foundation Award for General Cooking,[17] as well as the International Association of Culinary Professionals awards for Best American Cookbook and Cookbook of the Year.[18] In 2020 he released a children's book, Every Night is Pizza Night, which debuted on the New York Times Children's Bestseller list.[19][20]

As of 2019, Kenji resides in San Mateo, California, after previously living in New York City and Boston.[21] López-Alt opened the Wursthall Restaurant & Bierhaus in San Mateo, California, with partners Adam Simpson and Tyson Mao.[22] A second location of Wursthall in Santana Row in San Jose, was announced in November 2018,[23][24] however as of July 2020 it has yet to happen.

Filmography

Year Show title Type Notes
2016 The Chew Television series Seven episodes[25]
2019 The Burger Show Television series Season 3, Episode 3, J. Kenji López-Alt Debunks Burger Myths[26]
2020 Somebody Feed Phil Television series Season 4, touring the Mission District[27]

Publications

  • López-Alt, J. Kenji (2015). The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science (1 ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393081084.
  • Parks, Stella (2017). BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts. J. Kenji López-Alt (Foreword). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393239867.
  • López-Alt, J. Kenji (2020). Every Night Is Pizza Night. Gianna Ruggiero (Illustrator). Norton Young Readers. ISBN 978-1324005254.
  • The Best American Food Writing 2020. J. Kenji López-Alt (Editor), Silvia Killingsworth (Editor). Mariner Books. 2020. ISBN 978-0358344582.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

References

  1. ^ J. Kenji López-Alt (September 23, 2020). Ask Kenji Anything #1. Event occurs at 15:45. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  2. ^ "Fall 2015's Best Cookbooks: Cooking Pros Bring It Home". Eater. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  3. ^ Pearlstein, Joanna. "The Ultimate Book for Science Nerds Who Cook". WIRED. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  4. ^ "A SIDE OF SCIENCE - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  5. ^ a b Robertson, Blair Anthony (2015). "Science becomes delicious in 'The Food Lab'". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on 2015-12-16. Retrieved 2019-11-13. His father, Frederick Alt, is a professor at Harvard Medical School
  6. ^ Morell, Nicole. "Alumnus takes food out of the kitchen and into the lab". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  7. ^ "Q&A With James Beard Award-Winning Cookbook Author J. Kenji Lopez-Alt". 7x7 Bay Area. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  8. ^ "Alumnus Takes Food Out of the Kitchen and into the Lab". MIT Alumni Association. 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  9. ^ "Alumnus Chef One-Ups (OK, Maybe Two-Ups) KFC". slice.mit.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-10-26. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  10. ^ Killingsworth, Silvia (2015-10-03). "Kenji López-Alt's Obsessive Kitchen Experiments". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  11. ^ "Masthead". www.seriouseats.com. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  12. ^ "The Complete 2015 JBF Award Nominees". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  13. ^ "J. Kenji López-Alt Joins Food". New York Times. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  14. ^ "Kenji Lopez-Alt". Cooking Light. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  15. ^ "The Food Lab". books.wwnorton.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  16. ^ "Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous Books - Best Sellers - December 20, 2015". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  17. ^ "The 2016 Book, Broadcast, and Journalism Awards: Complete Winner Recap". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  18. ^ "Winners - IACP". IACP. Archived from the original on 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  19. ^ Kennedy, Mark. "'Every Night is Pizza Night': Chef and writer J. Kenji López-Alt cooks up a kid's book". USA TODAY. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Every Night Is Pizza Night". wwnorton.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Mr. Wizard's Food Lab: J. Kenji López-Alt's unlikely path to stardom". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  22. ^ "Internet Food Guru J. Kenji Lopez-Alt Opening Real Life Beer and Sausage Hall". Eater SF. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  23. ^ Pershan, Caleb. "A Second Beer Hall From Recipe Expert J. Kenji López-Alt Is on the Way". Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  24. ^ "Chef Kenji bringing his Wursthall to Santana Row in San Jose". The Mercury News. 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  25. ^ "The Chew | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  26. ^ "J. Kenji López-Alt Debunks Burger Myths, The Burger Show". Complex. Retrieved 2020-11-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ de Guzman, Dianne (2020-10-31). "Netflix show features Bay Area chef superstars in SF episode". SFGATE. Retrieved 2020-11-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)