by Malcolm Jolley

Gail Simmons’ new book Talking With My Mouth Full: My Life As a Professional Eater charts her journey from a lowly editorial assistant at Toronto Life to a fully fledged food media doyen as a judge on Top Chef. Simmons developed a talent at seeking out the right bosses mentors and her c.v. reads like a who’s who of the New York fooderatti: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Jeffrey Steingarten, Daniel Boulud and Dana Cowin, just to name a few. It’s a must read for any young person with an ambition to build a career in the food media world, and it’s a great fun read for those of us in it (at whatever humble station), because Simmons’ story covers the arc of the amazing food and media revolutions of the last 15 years. I spoke to her in the video below as she swung through her old home town to promote Talking With My Mouth Full and she was kind enough to give GFR viewers a few secrets of her success as well as some behind the scenes skinny on how Top Chef really works.


Can’t see the video? Click here.

GFR videos are generously sponsored by a grant from Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company. Malcolm Jolley is a founding editor of Good Food Revolution and Executive Director of Good Food Media, the non-profit organization that publishes GFR. twitter.com/malcolmjolley. Photo: John Gundy.