Christopher Kimball is an American

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

and TV personality. He is notable as one of the founders of ''

America's Test Kitchen ''America's Test Kitchen'' (originally ''America's Test Kitchen from Cook's Illustrated Magazine'') is a half-hour long cooking show broadcast by PBS and Create. Originally hosted by Christopher Kimball, the program currently is co-hosted by Juli ...

'' and ''

Cook's Country ''Cook's Country'' is an American half-hour television cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a re ...

'' and as the creator of ''

Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Christopher Kimball's Milk Street is a multimedia, instructional food preparation organization created by Christopher Kimball. The organization comprises a weekly half-hour television program seen on public television stations, a magazine called ...

''.

Early life and education

Kimball was born and raised in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

, the son of Mary Alice White and Edward Norris Kimball. The family had a cabin in southwestern Vermont. He graduated from

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

and then

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

(1973) with a degree in Primitive Art.

Career

Early career

After graduating from Columbia, Kimball worked with his stepbrother in a publishing company. Soon after, he worked for The Center for Direct Marketing in

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...

and also started taking cooking courses. In 1980, after securing $100,000 in angel investments from friends and family, he started ''Cook’s Magazine'' out of an office in

Weston, Connecticut Weston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,354 at the 2020 census with the highest median household income in Connecticut. The town is served by Route 57 and Route 53, both of which run through the ...

. He sold the magazine to the

Bonnier Group Bonnier AB (), also the Bonnier Group, is a privately held Swedish media group of 175 companies operating in 15 countries. It is controlled by the Bonnier family. Background The company was founded in 1804 by Gerhard Bonnier in Copenhagen, Den ...

in 1989.

''America's Test Kitchen''

Kimball was a co-founder, as well as editor and publisher of

, which produces television and radio shows, and publishes magazines, including '' Cook's Illustrated'', which Kimball launched in 1993. It also publishes ''

'' magazine, which was launched in 2004. The company's revenue comes from its readers, rather than advertisers, which differentiates it from the competitors. Its cookbook publisher division is Two Pigs Farm. Boston Common Press, a private partnership between Kimball, Eliot Wadsworth II, and George P. Denny III, owned Kimball's publishing activities. Kimball also hosted the syndicated

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

cooking shows ''

'' and '' Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen''. On November 16, 2015, a news release from Boston Common Press, parent company of Cooks Country/Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen, announced Kimball's departure. The 2016 TV programs had already been filmed and Kimball appeared as host, but his direct participation in the company ended immediately.

''Christopher Kimball's Milk Street''

In 2016, Kimball created ''Christopher Kimball's Milk Street'', located on Milk Street in Boston, Massachusetts. On October 31, 2016, Boston Common Press (the parent company ''of America's Test Kitchen'' and ''Cook's Illustrated'') filed a lawsuit against Kimball in Suffolk Superior Court, claiming that Kimball "literally and conceptually ripped off" his former employer. In the lawsuit, Boston Common Press claims Kimball built his new venture while still on their payroll, using company resources in the form of recipes and databases to help shape ''Milk Street Kitchen'' into a direct competitor. The lawsuit was settled in August 2019. As part of the settlement, Kimball sold his remaining stock back to the company. He was further sued by his ex-wife Adrienne who alleged his departure from ''Cook's Illustrated'' devalued the company and affected his payments to her.

Other

He is the author of ''The Cook's Bible'', ''The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook'', ''Dear Charlie'', ''The Dessert Bible'', and ''Fannie's Last Supper'', and is a columnist for the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Ta ...

'' and the Boston-based

Tab Communications Tab Communications Inc. (also called Tabloid Newspaper Publishers), based first in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, then in nearby Needham, was a weekly newspaper publisher in Greater Boston before being bought by Fidelity Investments in 199 ...

. His other television appearances include ''

This Old House ''This Old House'' is an American home improvement media brand with television shows, a magazine, and a websiteThisOldHouse.com. The brand is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The television series airs on the American television networ ...

'' and the morning shows ''

Weekend Today ''Weekend Today'' is currently the branding of the weekend editions of ''Today'', an American morning news and talk program that airs daily on NBC. Weekend editions of ''Today'', began with the launch of the Sunday edition of the program on Se ...

'' and ''

The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday fro ...

''. He has been a regular contributor on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from othe ...

. On January 8, 2011, Kimball began hosting

WGBH-FM WGBH (89.7 MHz; branded as GBH without the " W" since August 31, 2020) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member station of National Public Radio (NPR) and affiliate of Public Radio Exchange (PRX), which ...

's ''America's Test Kitchen Radio'' distributed by PRX. In 2015, when he left the America's Test Kitchen TV shows, his association with the radio program also ended. He began hosting a new weekly radio cooking show in 2016, '' Milk Street Radio'', also heard on WGBH-FM in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, airing Sundays at 3 p.m., and

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

to other US public radio stations.

Personal life

He has been married three times. He had a son and three daughters with his second wife, Adrienne. They divorced in December 2012. On June 30, 2013, Kimball married Melissa Lee Baldino, executive producer of the ''America's Test Kitchen'' television show.Laskey, Margaux,
"Melissa Baldino, Christopher Kimball: All the Ingredients Were There"
''The New York Times'', June 30, 2013 She is now co-founder of ''Christopher Kimball's Milk Street''. Their son, Oliver Kimball, was born on May 4, 2017. A daughter, Rike, was born in 2019.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Christopher Kimball's Milk Street
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimball, Christopher Living people American magazine founders American male chefs American radio personalities American television chefs Chefs from New York (state) Columbia College (New York) alumni PBS people People from Rye, New York People from Westchester County, New York Phillips Exeter Academy alumni American gastronomes 1951 births