Kim is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, speaker, panel moderator and occasional stand-up comic.

Journalism

New York Times work

Garden & Gun collection

Selected articles

The Last, Painful Days of Anthony Bourdain

New York Times | September 2022

A new, unauthorized biography reveals intimate, often raw, details of the TV star’s life, including his tumultuous relationship with the Italian actor Asia Argento. And it’s drawing criticism from many of his friends and family.

The New Secret Chicken Recipe? Animal Cells

New York Times | February 2022

Here’s an early taste of the laboratory-grown meat that companies are racing to bring to market, and a look at the questions it raises about how we feed ourselves.

For Her Swan Song, Linda Ronstadt Turns to Recipes

New York Times | October 2022

In “Feels Like Home,” the singer, her voice taken by a form of Parkinson’s, tells her story through the border dishes of her Arizona youth.

Her Family Owned Slaves. How Can She Make Amends?

New York Times | July 2021

Stacie Marshall, who inherited a Georgia farm, is trying on a small scale to address a generations-old wrong that still bedevils the nation.

Ken Friedman, Power Restaurateur, Is Accused of Sexual Harassment

New York Times | July 2021

A Widow Takes the Helm at Blackberry Farm

New York Times | Aug. 2016

Kim Severson Kerala India Learning to Sort Tea

Stage and Sound

Danny Meyer, Rashida Holmes and Kwame Onwuachi on the Future of Restaurants

New York Times Events | Nov 2022

What do restaurants mean to culture today? What does it look like to eat out now, for diners and restaurateurs alike? Watch as Kim Severson from The New York Times sits down with legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer; award-winning chef, author and actor Kwame Onwuachi; and chef-owner Rashida Holmes of the acclaimed pop-up Bridgetown Roti examine what we crave and what we should leave behind. These leaders from across the hospitality industry discuss how diners can impact positive change for the industry going forward, and much more.

How to Cook for Your Kids with 'Chopped' Host Ted Allen

New York Times Events | Jun 2022

With many families cooking at home for nearly every meal, pleasing picky eaters and fostering a balanced, healthy meal plan is more important — and challenging — than ever. How can home cooks cope? Ted Allen, host of the Emmy Award-winning television show “Chopped” and cookbook author, speaks directly to moms and dads who are cooking for such eaters — and demos a recipe, too! Join Times food correspondent Kim Severson in the kitchen, as she shares her favorite recipes and meal-planning tips for these challenging times.

Happy Hour With The Times: What is queer food?

NYT Cooking | Jun 2020

We’ll explore how issues of equity, justice and empowerment are reflected in the way we eat and cook, and discuss the intersectionality of food, race and sexual expression. Deborah is a chef and a business owner, and John is about to publish “The Man Who Ate Too Much” about James Beard. They know things!

Kim Severson Talks About Rabbits, Bad Men, and Stories That Stick in Your Soul

Communal Table Podcast | Nov 2019

You don't do Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism without asking tough, uncomfortable questions. New York Times food correspondent Kim Severson has made a much-lauded career out of finding the truth, beauty, and sometimes ugly humanity in the food system—and this time the tables are turned. Severson sat down for a deeply personal conversation about interviewing vulnerable people, deciding which stories to tell, and taking care of herself in the process.

Eating for a Living: Life as a Food Critic

New York Times Events - Host | Oct 2019

They can make or break a restaurant with one review. How does it feel to wield such cultural power? What’s it like to eat delicious (and not-so-delicious) food for a living? And do they really wear disguises? Past and present restaurant critics tell all.


Bourdain and Beyond

New York Times | Oct 2019

Anthony Bourdain’s boundless curiosity and bold voice launched a new genre of food entertainment, inspiring people around the world to go in search of adventure — and incredible street food. Join two of Bourdain’s fellow wandering chefs, Andrew Zimmern, Chef, Author and TV Personality; and Pati Jinich, Chef, Cookbook Author and Host of PBS’s “Pati’s Mexican Table” as they ponder the road ahead, in conversation with Kim Severson, National Food Correspondent, The New York Times.

Creating Change Through Cooking

New York Times Events | Oct 2019

The New York Times Food Festival. Kerry Diamond, Editor in Chief, Cherry Bombe Jon Gray, Co-Founder, Ghetto Gastro Julia Turshen, Cookbook Author and Founder, Equity at the Table In conversation with Kim Severson, National Food Correspondent, The New York Times.

The Last Word: Leah Chase

The New York Times | Jun 2019

In 2007, Leah Chase, the pioneering New Orleans chef, sat down with a New York Times reporter to discuss her restaurant, Dooky Chase’s, which served as a meeting place for civil rights workers and entertainers, and was visited by presidents.

Author Talks

Atlanta History Center | Jun 2019

An homage to what it means to be Korean American with delectable recipes that explore how new culinary traditions can be forged to honor both your past and your present.

#MeToo, Now What?

MAD Symposium - Kim Severson, Wade Davis & Lisa Donovan | Sep 2018

New York Times' national food correspondent Kim Severson won a Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on sexual harassment in the workplace in 2018. At the sixth MAD Symposium, she leads a conversation between Wade Davis, UN Women Global Champion for Innovation and inclusion consultant for Google and Netflix, and Lisa Donovan, acclaimed pastry chef and writer, who won a James Beard award for her essay on #MeToo in the food world. In this important and intense discussion, Donovan, Davis, and Severson reflect on the revelations that prompted the #MeToo movement and the reckoning that has resulted from it. Spurred by their individual experiences and those of audience members, they offer insight and guidance to the industry as it finally begins to tackle these critical issues.

The Last Word: Leah Chase

The New York Times | Jun 2019

In 2007, Leah Chase, the pioneering New Orleans chef, sat down with a New York Times reporter to discuss her restaurant, Dooky Chase’s, which served as a meeting place for civil rights workers and entertainers, and was visited by presidents.

Perfect Shrimp, Every Time

The New York Times - Host | Oct 2014

Kim Severson buys fresh local shrimp and then shows how to turn them into scampi.

Emeril Lagasse Interview - TimesTalks

New York Times Events | Oct 2013

Emeril Lagasse sits down with New York Times Atlanta bureau chief Kim Severson - www.timestalks.com. Emeril Lagasse, renowned chef and 2013 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year, talks about his cooking career as well as his advocacy of culinary arts and education for children.

Paula Deen on Race in 2012 TimesTalk

The New York Times | Jun 2013

The Times's Kim Severson asked Paula Deen her thoughts about race relations in the South during a TimesTalk event last year.

Spoon Fed Author Kim Severson

Rachel Ray

After whipping up Asparagus, Ham and Egg Pasta, Rachael invites food writer Kim Severson to enjoy the meal and celebrate her new memoir Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life.

Dining & Wine: Southern Layer Cakes

The New York Times | DEc 2009

Kim travels to southeast Alabama to learn how to make a 15-layer chocolate cake.

Kim Severson Noting There is always a food angle

About

Kim Severson is a national food correspondent for the New York Times. She was previously the New York Times Southern bureau chief. Severson won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for her contributions to the team that investigated sexual harassment and abuse against women. She also has won four James Beard awards and the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for her work on childhood obesity.

She has been a staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, an editor and reporter at the Anchorage Daily News in Alaska and has covered crime, education, social services and politics for other daily newspapers on the West Coast.

She has written four books, “The Trans Fat Solution," “The New Alaska Cookbook," a memoir called “Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life,” and, in 2012, "Cook Fight!" a collaborative cookbook with fellow New York Times writer Julia Moskin.

She’s a Midwesterner by birth, and lives in Atlanta with her partner, a teenager and two dogs. She plays softball, cooks, reads, watches bad TV and tries to get into nature as much as possible.