Episode 107: Remembering Craig Claiborne with Tom McNamee

This week’s episode of A Taste of the Past is a dedication to Craig Claiborne, legendary New York Times restaurant critic. Linda Pelaccio is talking with Tom McNamee, author of the recent Craig Claiborne-focused book, The Man Who Changed the Way We Eat. When Craig Claiborne began his career, there was no outlet for critical review of restaurant and food culture. Tune in to hear about how Craig Claiborne transformed The New York Times’ food coverage into the critical lens that it is known to be today. Hear about how he brought the star rating system for restaurants to the United States, and how he introduced American households to multitudes of ethnic cuisines. If you think some restaurants are extravagantly priced, listen in to hear about a meal that Mr. Claiborne shared with chef Pierre Franey that cost roughly $20,000 in today’s currency. Hear more about the fascinating life and work of Craig Claiborne in this week’s episode of A Taste of the Past! This episode was sponsored by White Oak Pastures

“I think it’s important to realize what the American context was at the time. It was just shortly after World War II, and industrialized food was in a huge upsurge… it was an absolute wasteland in American food!”

“He was bringing strange things to The New York Times’ readership immediately in his first column.”

“He kept constantly bringing in the ‘outer world’, and therefore a lot of things that we take for granted [he introduced in our culture].”

— Tom McNamee on A Taste of the Past

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