I approach my work as a journalist
from the perspective of an outsider,
and I'm really comfortable with that unease. 
Food writing isn't just about the way things taste.
You're telling the stories that are inseparable from the food,
stories about labor, 
politics, power, history.
My path to the newsroom was a little unusual.
I started my career cooking in restaurants, 
copy editing, and translating.
My first big break was as a staff writer at the Village Voice, 
writing weekly restaurant reviews.
I try to be as anonymous as possible, to just stay on the sidelines,
and avoid special treatment.
I won a James Beard award for my restaurant criticism in 2013.
In 2015, I won another James Beard Award for my work at Bloomberg News.
Now, as a reporter on staff at the New York Times, 
and a columnist for the Times Magazine,
I write stories about people, particularly women and people of color, 
whose work has traditionally been overlooked or misrepresented.
One of my favorite stories to report was about Kabir Ahmed, 
a Bangladeshi immigrant who runs a food cart in Lower Manhattan.
When millions of Times readers learned about Kabir’s day-to-day work, 
and the challenges that over 10,000 vendors face every day in the city, 
they crowdfunded to support his family.
This story tapped into what I love about food writing.
It can be such a powerful way to document other people's perspectives.
As a British immigrant, and as the daughter of immigrants from Kenya and India, 
food has bridged all kinds of gaps in my work, and in my life. 
Because food is a universal way to connect.
It’s also the best way I know into a story.
