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Hi! Thanks for stopping by. I'm the author of FOOD WHORE: A Novel of Dining & Deceit, out now from William Morrow/HarperCollins. I'm also an accomplished chef and co-winner of season 14 of Food Network Star. You can find me on stage, online, and on television, appearing on Food Network, Good Morning America, the TODAY Show, and more.
I like working with my hands and making something out of nothing. That has led to obsessions with paper crafts, weaving, botanical experiments and more.
The one constant has always been food -- making it, eating it, learning about it.
In college, I began pursuing another craft: writing. I was an English major and Writing Concentration at Yale University and studied three years under award-winning novelist, Amy Bloom.
FOOD WHORE merged my love of food and fiction, and has become an international hit that has delighted readers and food-lovers in seven different languages. Today, I've carved a career in food storytelling -- whether that's on the page or on the screen.
I believe we're living in a golden age of food. The more stories we share, in the most mediums, with the most joy -- the better.
See me around the internet here: Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | LinkedIn or email me at jessica@jessicatom.com.
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A Lil About Me...
1984 - Born in NYC to a family obsessed with food.
1987 - Favorite game: “Big Fish” -- where my parents pretend to catch, cook, and eat me. So much fun.
1993 - Start cooking, but with lots of shortcuts: canned sauces, cake mixes, powdered drinks ... yuck.
1994 - Start reading cookbooks for fun. Favorite is The Good Housekeeping's Illustrated Cookbook, a charmingly outdated classic with recipes you never see anymore: Zabaglione, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Oysters Rockefeller.
1996 - Develop an original recipe ... and it's actually good: a peppery, creamy borscht. Encouraged.
1997 - Host dinner party for friends with disastrous results. Rice is undercooked, chocolate overheated. Most edible "dish" is chips and salsa.
1999 - Start building cooking repertoire -- madeleines, panna cotta, bright and hearty salads. Went to the principal’s office for making crepes in the cafeteria.
2002 - Enroll in Yale University and ultimately major in English, with a concentration in Fiction Writing.
2003 - Intern at ZAGAT Survey. Eat lunch with Tim Zagat at Jean-Georges and see first-hand what it's like to dine with a big-time food critic.
2004 - Date a waiter at Union League Cafe, New Haven’s go-to fine dining restaurant. Fall in love with restaurant dynamics and profile the restaurant in a front page story for the Yale Daily News Magazine. Start writing regular column. Topics include: DIY dishes from the dining hall salad bar, restaurant reviews, and the agony of being allergic to chocolate (happily, no longer the case).
2004 - 2006 - Start three-year study under novelist Amy Bloom who tells us, most memorably, “people are not a bowl of oatmeal with a raisin on top”.
2005 - Tired of schoolwork, look for a side project that’s creative and entrepreneurial. Pair up with an illustrator and launch Lei Lei dolls. She designs the dolls and provides illustrations; I write book and packaging copy. The dolls are sold exclusively at FAO Schwarz.
2008 - Work at a direct marketing company and move towards food-oriented projects. Write copy and marketing plans for a wine-of-the-month club and a meal delivery service.
2009 - Start writing Food Whore: A Novel of Dining and Deceit. Ravenously read books about and by waiters, chefs, and restaurant critics.
2011 - Work at an art-and-design incubator in Brooklyn with a focus on restaurant growth. In two years, circulate three RFPs for a Brooklyn restaurant, Brooklyn food truck, and Philadelphia restaurant. Get to know restaurateurs and the business of expansion and concept development.
2012 - Discover RFP from the New York City Economic Development Committee and the City of Brooklyn for a culinary incubator. Spearhead proposal, meet with leading food makers, get them on board -- and win.
2013 - Work as the Community Director at the "offline dating site" HowAboutWe. Serve as the point person for all success stories, special occasion date-planning, and blogger relations. If you joined HowAboutWe between 2012 and 2014, yes, that was me who sent you your welcome message!
2014 - Sell Food Whore: A Novel of Dining and Deceit to William Morrow / HarperCollins.
2015 - Work as the Marketing Director of SevenRooms, technology that enables high-end restaurants and nightclubs to provide the best possible service.
October 27, 2015 - Food Whore: A Novel of Dining and Deceit goes on sale.
December 7, 2015 - Variety announces DreamWorks has optioned the rights to Food Whore with Lisa Rubin attached as screenwriter.
April 14, 2016 - Make my Food Network debut as a contestant on Cooks vs Cons (full episode here).
June 10, 2018 - I start my journey on Food Network Star!
August 10, 2018 - I win season 14 of Food Network Star, along with Christian Petroni.
2019
A big year filled with major milestones…
