John “Doc” Willoughby

2022

Literary and Culinary Achievement

"Literary Lion" Award

John “Doc” Willoughby has been writing and teaching about food and cooking since 1989. He and chef Chris Schlesinger co-authored ten cookbooks, including the Beard Award-winning Thrill of the Grill. The two also wrote monthly articles for the New York Times Dining section for many years. Doc was also the founding Executive Editor of Cooks Illustrated magazine, the Executive Editor of Gourmet magazine under Ruth Reichl for 10 years, and served as Editorial Director of America’s Test Kitchen. Most recently, he was editor of Seasoned, a nonprofit magazine designed to teach cooking skills to elders, and is now working on Benjamin, a nonprofit startup aimed at teaching financial literacy to kids. He is also (slowly) working on a remembrance of his childhood in rural Iowa.