My Kitchen Year: Ruth Reichl

WUNC | By Laura Lee,

Published October 14, 2015 at 12:05 PM EDT

When Ruth Reichl lost her job as 'Gourmet' editor-in-chief, she turned to, and found joy in, cooking.

When Gourmet magazine, shut down six years ago this month, editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl was devastated.

The former Los Angeles Times food editor and New York Times restaurant critic did not know what to do next. Lost and uncertain about her future, Reichl returned to the one simple passion that always brought her joy: cooking.

She documented her experiences and the recipes in a new book, My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life (Random House/2015). A conversation with food editor, restaurant critic, and writer Ruth Reichl

Host Frank Stasio talks with Ruth Reichl about her life and career. She speaks Thursday at 1 p.m. at The Fearrington Barn as part of the Cooks & Books luncheon series.

Laura Lee

Laura Lee began her journalism career as a producer and booker at NPR. She returned to her native North Carolina to manage The State of Things, a live daily statewide show on WUNC. After working as a managing editor of an education journalism start-up, she became a writer and editor at a national education publication, Edutopia. She then served as the news editor at Carolina Public Press, a statewide investigative newsroom. In 2022, she worked to build collaborative coverage of elections administration and democracy in North Carolina.

Laura received her master’s in journalism from the University of Maryland and her bachelor’s degree in political science and J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

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