Craig Claiborne

Craig Claiborne (September 4, 1920 – January 22, 2000) was an American restaurant critic, food journalist, and book author. He was a long-time food editor and restaurant critic for The New York Times and authored numerous cookbooks and an autobiography. Born in Sunflower, Mississippi, Claiborne was raised on the region's distinctive cuisine in the kitchen of his mother's boarding house in Indianola. He studied premedical studies at Mississippi State College and transferred to the University of Missouri, where he majored in journalism and received his B.A. degree. Claiborne served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. He later attended the École hôtelière de Lausanne (Lausanne Hotel School).More