Julia Turshen facts for kids

Julia Turshen (born 1985) is an American cookbook author, food writer, and cook. She also works to make sure everyone has fair access to good food. Julia gives talks about cooking at home and has written many cookbooks. She has written four books by herself and helped with many others.

Julia has worked with famous people like Gwyneth Paltrow. Her book In Bibi's Kitchen, which she wrote with Hawa Hassan in 2020, won a big award. It received the 2022 James Beard Foundation award for Best International Cookbook.

Julia also has a podcast called Keep Calm and Cook On. She writes a monthly column for Food & Wine magazine. She has written for other well-known magazines and newspapers too, like The New York Times and Vogue. Julia helps guide the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's Kitchen Cabinet Advisory Board. She also started Equity At The Table (EATT), which is a list of women and people of color who work in food. She often cooks meals for Citizen Action of New York, a group that helps people.

Julia's Early Life and Education

Julia Turshen grew up in New York with her brother. Her parents were artists; her mom was an art director and her dad was a graphic designer. Julia loved cookbooks from a young age. When she was just 13, she even opened a small restaurant in her family's home!

Julia's grandparents owned a bread bakery in Brooklyn. Even though she never met them, Julia feels that her love for cooking comes from her family's history. Her parents didn't cook much, so Julia taught herself. She learned from books, famous chefs like Julia Child, and TV shows. Before college, she worked at a bakery in Port Chester, New York.

Julia did not go to a special cooking school. Instead, she went to Barnard College and studied English. While in college, she worked as an intern for Food & Wine magazine. She also interned for a cookbook author and a TV show producer.

Julia's Journey in Cooking

After college, Julia got a job helping a writer create a cookbook for a TV show about food and travel in Spain. When that writer left, Julia got the chance to write the book herself! After that, she helped write or worked on about ten more cookbooks. She also worked as a private chef, cooking for people in their homes.

Her First Solo Cookbooks

In 2016, Julia released her first cookbook all by herself. It was called Small Victories: Recipes, Advice + Hundreds of Ideas for Home Cooking Triumphs. This book was a big success! The New York Times and NPR both said it was one of the best cookbooks of that year.

In 2017, Julia released another book, Feed the Resistance: Recipes + Ideas for Getting Involved. She gave all the money from this book to the ACLU, a group that protects people's rights. This book was about how food can be used to help make changes in the world. It was named Eater's Best Cookbook of 2017.

In 2018, Julia's book Now & Again: Go-To Recipes, Inspired Menus + Endless Ideas for Reinventing Leftovers was nominated for an award. It was a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Food & Cookbooks.

In 2019, her podcast, Keep Calm and Cook On, was also nominated for an award. This was from the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Sharing Her Knowledge

Julia often gives talks and leads discussions about food and cooking. She has spoken at many places, including the Museum of Food & Drink in Brooklyn and the National Museum of American History. She has also been featured on Google Talks and NPR.

Awards and Recognitions

• Eater's Best Cookbook of 2017
• 2022 James Beard award for Best International Cookbook

Julia's Personal Life

Julia Turshen is married to Grace Bonney, who started a popular design website called Design Sponge. They have lived in Ulster County, New York since 2014. Before that, they lived in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.