Mark Bittman is a bestselling cookbook author, journalist and television personality. His friendly, informal approach to home cooking has shown millions that fancy execution is no substitute for flavor and soul.
Why you should listen to him:
Although Mark Bittman never formally trained as a chef, his pursuits as a curious and tenacious foodie have made him a casual culinary master. His weekly New York Times food column, The Minimalist, meshes accessible and inexpensive ingredients with "anyone-can" cooking techniques to produce exceedingly delicious dishes. Bittman's funny, friendly attitude and trademark informal approach to food-craft extend to his blockbuster TV programs (which retain delays and mishaps that other producers would edit out), his blog, Bitten, and ambitious cookbooks, like How to Cook Everything and The Best Recipes in the World.
After a decade as the "Minimalist," Bittman has emerged a respected spokesperson on all things edible: He's concerned about the ecological and health impacts of our modern diet, which he characterizes as overwhelmingly meat-centered and hooked on fast food. His criticism has the world listening: His revolutionary How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (sequel to How to Cook Everything), is a bestseller, and his memorable talk at the 2007 EG Conference (available now on TED.com) delivered a stinging condemnation of the way we eat now. A subsequent New York Times article pursued the same argument.
Bittman is currently at work on a new book, Food Matters, which explores the link between our eating habits and the environment, offering an accessible plan for a planet-friendly diet.
Blog Posts on TED
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A heavy education for New York City commuters – October 8, 2008
Many of us don't know how to eat. (And it's making us fat, sick and disconnected.) This poster and three more like it are turning up in New York subways, confronting us with the vagueness that goes into our food choices. If you really knew that a fast-food burrito meal was 1170 calories -- more than half the calories you should eat all day -- would you still think it was healthy? The campaign, led by NYC's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, hopes to make a dent in the preventable health problems and early deaths caused by obesity each year. Dr. Dean Ornish would be proud. -- Sierra Feldner-Shaw
