Nilou Motamed

Nilou Motamed (; born April 19, 1971) is an Iranian-born American magazine editor and television personality. She is a recurring judge on the television series Iron Chef. Motamed is the former editor-in-chief of Food & Wine magazine and Condé Nast's Epicurious.

Early life Motamed was born in Tehran and spent her childhood in Iran. Her family fled to Paris after the Iranian Revolution, then to New York when she was a teenager. Motamed is fluent in four languages: English, French, Spanish, and Persian.

Career In 2000, Motamed joined the staff at Travel + Leisure as associate editor; she was soon promoted to food editor and ultimately to features director and senior correspondent. Her Travel + Leisure food coverage was nominated for eight James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards. appearing on outlets ranging from CNN to NBC's Today and CBS This Morning.

In 2013, Motamed was named editor-in-chief of Epicurious, Condé Nast's digital food site. Motamed created and curated the brand's "1/3/5" collection of local experiences.

In 2016, Motamed took charge of Time Inc.'s Food & Wine, overseeing editorial operations and content for an audience of more than 12 million.

Beginning with Season 5 in 2008, Motamed has appeared often as a guest on Bravo's award-winning series Top Chef.

Recognition Motamed has been a panelist for the James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards since 2007. and was named one of AdWeek's "30 Most Influential People in Food".

Personal life Motamed met her husband magazine journalist Peter Jon Lindberg in 2000 while both were working at Travel + Leisure magazine.