Fay Goldie Maschler (''née'' Coventry; 15 July 1945) is a British journalist who was the restaurant critic of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' newspaper for nearly 50 years. She won a contest for the position in 1972, when her tenure was supposed to last for three months. In December 2020, the ''Evening Standard'' announced that Maschler would leave the role of its chief restaurant critic after 48 years, to be succeeded by

Jimi Famurewa Jimi Famurewa is a British journalist and food critic. Early life Famurewa was born in London, England, to Nigerian immigrants. He grew up in London. Career As a freelance journalist, Famurewa has written on diverse subjects for publications inc ...

, but would continue as a contributor. She was subsequently appointed restaurant critic of ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

'' magazine. Maschler was born in British India and moved to Surrey, England in 1947. When she was 12, her family moved to

Old Greenwich, Connecticut Old Greenwich is an affluent coastal village in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 6,611. The town of Greenwich is one political and taxing body, but consists of several distinct sectio ...

, where she learned to cook. She was married to the publisher

Tom Maschler Thomas Michael Maschler (16 August 193315 October 2020) was a British publisher and writer. He was noted for instituting the Booker Prize for British, Irish and Commonwealth literature in 1969. He was involved in publishing the works of many not ...

from 1970 to 1987. She was latterly married to

Reg Gadney Reginald Bernard John Gadney (20 January 1941 – 1 May 2018) was a painter, thriller-writer and an occasional screenwriter or screenplay adaptor. Gadney was also an officer in the Coldstream Guards in the 1960s and later wrote the biopic s ...

, the thriller writer and painter; he died in early May 2018. She and Tom Maschler had three children, Ben, Hannah and Alice; they were divorced in 1987 and he died in 2020. In 2004, Maschler was awarded an MBE for services to journalism. Two photographic portraits of Maschler are held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.

References

1945 births Living people British people of Jewish descent British women journalists Women food writers British restaurant critics London Evening Standard people Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British people 21st-century British people {{food-bio-stub