Alison Roman

Two recipes made Alison Roman's name before her second cookbook arrived: the salted chocolate chunk shortbread out of Dining In and a spiced chickpea and coconut stew that circulated under its own hashtag. Born in Los Angeles in 1985, she left the University of California, Santa Cruz at nineteen for restaurant kitchens, cooking at Sona, Quince, Milk Bar and Pies 'n' Thighs, then testing recipes at Bon Appétit and rising to senior food editor there. Dining In (2017) is weeknight cooking for one or two, built on a small pantry. Nothing Fancy (2019) turns outward to feeding a crowd without the formalities of a dinner party. Her New York Times column was paused in 2020 after remarks she made about Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo drew criticism, and she has since worked mainly through her own newsletter and video series.