News

Leveraging a modest start as a restaurant reviewer for New West magazine in the 1970s, renowned food writer and chef Ruth Reichl rose to the pinnacle of professional achievement as the restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times and New York Times. She then moved on to become Gourmet magazine’s editor-in-chief for a decade, prior to the venerable publication’s unfortunate demise. Along the way there have been high-profile stints in broadcasting and no fewer than six James Beard Foundation awards.

So when the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic shuts down thousands of restaurants nationwide, what’s a food reporter to write about? Fortunately, Reichl’s interests have always been much broader than just fine dining, touching also on history, sustainability and social justice. Laura Gabbert, director of 2015 culinary adventure City of Gold and eco-doc No Impact Man (2009), catches up with Reichl in early 2020 as they begin a collaboration...