Marian Burros (born in

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

) is a cookbook author, and was food columnist for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', a position she held from 1981 to 2014. Before joining the Times, Burros was ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'''s food editor and a consumer reporter for an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

affiliate, a position for which she won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

WebMD WebMD is an American corporation which publishes online news and information about human health and well-being. The WebMD website also includes information about drugs and is an important healthcare information website and the most popular cons ...

,
Marian Burros Biography
. Accessed 26 November 2012. Burros also worked for

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News,

United Features United Feature Syndicate, Inc. (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper print syndication, syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part o ...

, ''

The Washington Daily News ''The Washington Daily News'' (1921–1972) was an afternoon tabloid-size newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and published daily except Sundays. History ''The Washington Daily News'' was owned by the E. W. Scripps Comp ...

'' and ''

The Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the ''Washington'' ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday ...

''.

Early life

Burros graduated with a degree in English literature from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

in 1954.

Career

Alongside her friend Lois Levine, Burros assembled a self-published cookbook, "Elegant but Easy," which was picked up by

Macmillan Publishing Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

in 1960. It eventually sold 500,000 copies. In 1968, became the editor of the food section at ''The Washington Star'', where she emphasized the role politics can play in food through federal decisions impacting food safety regulations. From 1969 until 1974, she had a syndicated column through

, titled "Chef Marian's Dish of the Day," after which she became food editor for ''

'' (1974 to 1981). She started with ''

'' in 1981. Burros is credited for being among the first food writers in the 1970's to apply investigative journalistic standards to the field. She was the first to break the story of ITT

Continental Baking Company The Continental Baking Company was one of the first bakeries to introduce fortified bread. It was the maker of the Twinkie and Wonder Bread. Through a series of acquisitions and mergers it became part of the former Hostess Brands company. Hist ...

's reduced-calorie, high-fiber Fresh Horizons Bread, which contained powdered

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...

, derived from

wood pulp Pulp is a fibrous Lignocellulosic biomass, lignocellulosic material prepared by chemically, semi-chemically, or mechanically isolating the cellulose fiber, cellulosic fibers of wood, fiber crops, Paper recycling, waste paper, or cotton paper, rag ...

. In 1974, she was a founding member and first vice-president of the

Association of Food Journalists The Association of Food Journalists (AFJ) was a US-based professional organization that operated from the early 1970s through 2024. It was created to promote high standards for journalists reporting and writing on food, the food industry, restaura ...

, an organization formed to set standards of journalistic objectivity for food writers.

Awards

Burros has won numerous awards, including an Emmy in 1973 for her consumer reporting on WRC-TV; the American Association of University Women Mass Media Award for consumer reporting and nutrition education; a 1988 citation from the

National Press Club A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...

for her coverage of food safety issues in The Times; and a Penney-Missouri Award. Her cookbooks and feature writing have won five James Beard Foundation awards. She has received a National Press Club citation (for food safety coverage), the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

Mass Media Award and is a three-time winner of the Vesta Award. After retiring, Burros received recognition for her career of reporting on the politics of food, health, nutrition, agriculture, and food safety. These included the

Alumnae Achievement award in 2016 and the

Award in 2017.

Personal life

She has two children and lives in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

Books

* ''Elegant But Easy'' (Collier Books, 1962) with Lois Levine * ''Second Helpings'' (Collier Books, 1964) with Lois Levine * ''Freeze With Ease'' (MacMillan, 1967) with Lois Levine * ''Come for Cocktails, Stay for Supper'' (MacMillan, 1970) * ''Summertime Cookbook'' (MacMillan, 1972)

Tastemaker Award The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) is a United States–based not-for-profit professional association whose members work in culinary education, communication, or the preparation of food and beverage. It was started in 19 ...

winner * ''Pure and Simple'' ( William Morrow, 1978)

winner * ''Keep It Simple'' (William Morrow, 1981) * ''You've Got It Made'' (William Morrow, 1984) * ''The Best of De Gustibus'' (

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 1988) * ''20-Minute Menus'' (Simon & Schuster, 1989) * ''Eating Well is the Best Revenge'' (Simon & Schuster, 1995) * ''Cooking for Comfort'' (Simon & Schuster, 209 pp, 2003) * ''The New Elegant But Easy Cookbook'' (Simon and Schuster, 2003)

References

Sources

External links

Burros at the Simon and Schuster website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burros, Marian Living people American food writers Year of birth missing (living people) The New York Times columnists Writers from Waterbury, Connecticut The Washington Post people Emmy Award winners Wellesley College alumni American columnists American women columnists American cookbook writers American women food writers Consumer rights activists James Beard Foundation Award winners 21st-century American women writers