John Martin Taylor

John Martin Taylor

Culinary historian

https://hoppinjohns.net
John Martin Taylor ("Hoppin' John") is the author of Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking (Bantam,1992; 20th Anniversary edition, UNC Press, 2012); The New Southern Cook (Bantam,1995); Hoppin' John's Charleston, Beaufort & Savannah (Clarkson Potter, 1997); and The Fearless Frying Cookbook (Workman, 1997). His work has appeared in journals and reviews in both Europe and the United States, including The New York Times, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Fine Cooking, The Journal of Gastronomy, Gastronomica, Bon Appétit, Country Home, Cooking Light and The Washington Post. He is the former food editor of the French-language magazine Ici New York. He has spoken at museums and conferences throughout the country and appeared on both regional and national television and radio. John has lived in the Caribbean, France, Italy, Bulgaria, and China, and is practiced in the cuisines and customs of not only his southern homeland but also of Liguria, France, the Balkans, and the African diaspora. He is the owner of HoppinJohns.com, a culinary website and mail-order business that grew out of his internationally renowned Charleston bookstore and cooking school, Hoppin' John'sâ, which he opened in 1986. In 1999, John closed the shop to concentrate on consulting, writing, and the website. His popular blog, HoppinJohns.net, has 6000 regular readers. A founding member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, he is considered a leading authority on the culinary history of the South and the expert on the cooking of lowcountry, the coastal plain that surrounds Charleston and Savannah. Gourmet has said that “no man deserves more credit for Charleston's culinary resurgence than John Martin Taylor, author of the exhilarating Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking." Charleston Magazine named John one of the city's Top 100 Most Influential people in its 337-year history: "Before Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking was published in 1992, Charleston cuisine was unfocused. Thanks to Taylor, we took pride in our produce, seafood, biscuits, and sweet tea. And foodies of the world agreed." He currently splits his time between Savannah, Georgia, and Washington, DC.

Most popular

John Martin's favorite cookbooks

Foods of the World (series)

Foods of the World (series)

Time-Life Books

Not because the information today is up-to-date but because they were the first books that piqued my culinary interests (I was 18 when they started releasing them and when I would come home from college I would devour my mother's copies).

Available on ckbk now
The Virginia Housewife

The Virginia Housewife

Mary Randolph

Karen Hess’s annotated facsimile editions of historically important American cookbooks set a new standard for culinary history in the United States.

Available on ckbk now
Available on ckbk now
La Varenne Pratique

La Varenne Pratique

Anne Willan

Provides quick answers to technical questions as well as classic proportions for recipes. It's more a dictionary than a cookbook.

Available on ckbk now
Lee Bailey's Country Desserts

Lee Bailey's Country Desserts

Lee Bailey

Lee’s books on casual, simply elegant entertaining are full of great recipes and inspiring photos. If I had to choose one, this would be it. I rarely make desserts unless I have company. His recipes are always straightforward and the results are delicious.

Southern Food

Southern Food

The first in-depth book on the food of the American South and it remains a classic. I never cook from it and many of the restaurants mentioned are long gone, but I love to read it.

English Bread and Yeast Cookery

English Bread and Yeast Cookery

Elizabeth David

There are authors whose work I simply enjoy reading for the writing - Elizabeth David, Simon Hopkinson, Fergus Henderson, Jane Grigson, Bill Neal, Madeleine Kamman. I put this work by Elizabeth David on my list simply because her writing is beautiful and her research flawless, PLUS the American Edition includes notes by Karen Hess, my mentor.