About The Writer

I really didn’t stumble onto a love of writing until realizing that the first few majors I selected in my early college career at The University of Colorado really weren’t for me. Luckily, I had a class with a great professor that flipped that switch for me, and I was hooked. Rounding the English major out with a minor in Film Studies sealed it for me: I love not just creating narratives, but looking for ones that exist in everyday life that merely require a glance, an open mind, a curious spirit.

But just how does one turn that into a meaningful career? I have a sharp editorial eye, and a scary attention to detail (shouldn’t all chefs?), but never cared about calling out prepositions and past participles, and can, at times, “pispronunciate my worms.”

Enter the world of food. During a brief spell between jobs, a friend encouraged me to write. To start a blog about food, just to keep my culinary mind sharp, and reconnect with writing. It was some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten; it did all that and more. It was enough of a hook to expand my circle to food writers and others interested in my ability to tell stories around food, and ultimately, led to my co-authoring my first cookbook, The Adventures of Fat Rice (Ten Speed Press 2016).

From that first fortunate foot in the door, I was able to get a few more opportunities, writing Let's Make Ramen! (Ten Speed Press 2019), Let's Make Dumplings! (Ten Speed Press 2021), and co-authoring Down South + East (Abrams Books 2026).

Along the way, I launched a culinary journal, Bon Vivant, of which seven issues were produced, each covering a single culinary topic as the team and I traveled around North America cooking and eating with people that aren’t always in the spotlight.

All the while, I actively managed kitchens. Now, my wife and I have moved to Montana to focus on less physically demanding, schedule dominating endeavors. While I continue to write, I’ve got some other pots on the fire, bubbling away. But I’m not sure anything will satisfy me quite as much as learning about other people, different cultures, and all the wonderful food that comes out of that journey before putting it down on paper.