Molly O'Neill, 1975
B.A., Denison University
Food Critic and Writer
New York Times Magazine
New York
Citation awarded June, 2000
Molly O’Neill combines two exceptional talents, writing and cooking, to create a career that is appoint of pride for Denison and a source of continuing pleasure for millions of readers and gourmets. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Molly graduated in 1975 from Denison, where she studied painting and writing. She attended the University of Vienna in Austria and La Varenne cooking school in Paris, and was a professional chef for ten years before she began writing about food in 1980. Since 1994 she has been food columnist for The New York Times Magazine.
The recipient of the Julia Child Award and the James Beard Award, Molly is the author of three cookbooks: The New York Cookbook, A Well-Seasoned Appetite, and The Pleasure of Your Company. She has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has appeared in numerous newspaper and magazines, including The Boston Globe, New York Newsday, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and Food & Wine. Some of Molly’s more unusual writings include English as a Second Language, a publication for Indo-Chinese refugees training to work in food services; and Eating Together, a culinary memoir written in collaboration with Lillian Hellman and Peter Fiebleman.
Molly currently hosts a weekly food show, “Great Food,” as well as specials on PBS. Most recently, she has launched onebigtable.com, a web-based multimedia company dedicated to food and cooking news, nutritional information, and entertaining advice. The company is a collaboration of leading food writers and cookbook authors, and its test kitchen develops and tests thousands of recipes each year.
Molly lives in Manhattan with her husband, her daughter, three bearded collies, and two Balinese cats named Martha and Stewart.
