Melissa Clark

Melissa Clark is an American food writer, cookbook author, and New York Times columnist. She is the author of over 40 cookbooks and has received multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation and IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) for her work.

Early life and education Clark is the daughter of Julian Clark and Rita Clark, both of whom were practicing psychiatrists. She is a third-generation Brooklynite and grew up in the Ditmas Park neighborhood. Her parents were avid home cooks, influenced by Julia Child.

Clark attended Stuyvesant High School where she took a food-writing class taught by Betty Fussell. In 2007, she began her weekly "A Good Appetite" column at The New York Times, She became a full-time staff writer at the Times in 2012, Clark's most favored ingredient is anchovies, which she praises for their versatility. East of Paris with David Bouley; The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern with Claudia Fleming, and Cook This Now (2011), which focuses on seasonal cooking. Clark's cookbook Dinner: Changing the Game won an award in 2018 from the International Association of Culinary Professionals. For The New Essentials of French Cooking, which was published in print and as a series of articles on NYT Cooking, Clark won the 2018 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for innovative storytelling.

In 2019, Clark hosted a podcast series, Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark, produced by The Splendid Table.

Personal life Clark has married three times. Her first marriage was in 1993 to Max Jonson. Daniel Gercke, with whom she has a daughter, Dahlia. The family lives in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.