I’m a food and travel writer and author of a memoir, Mastering the Art of French Eating (Viking Penguin), and a novel, Kitchen Chinese (HarperCollins). My articles have appeared in the New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler, Vogue.com, BonAppétit.com, the International Herald Tribune, Fodor’s travel guides, Washingtonian magazine, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. My books have been translated into nine languages.
I’ve been interested in food since the age of five, when I climbed on the counter to watch my father chop garlic. After graduating from UCLA, I moved to New York to pursue my other love — books — as an assistant editor at Viking Penguin. I currently divide my time between Paris — where I’ve lived since 2008 — and New York City. I’ve also lived in Southern California, Washington, D.C., and Beijing, China. (My husband is a diplomat and our frequent international moves offer me lots of fresh material and [occasional] angst to write about.)
In 2005, I was awarded a James Beard Foundation culinary scholarship to study in Bologna, Italy, an experience that forged a love of lasagne with béchamel sauce, and prohibitively expensive balsamic vinegar. More recently, I earned the WSET Level 2 Award in Wine & Spirits, with distinction. My interests include hot buttered toast, soup dumplings, melted cheese, and Earl Grey tea; I prefer home cooking to fine dining, and can be found on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.