The New York Times is changing the recipe behind its iconic Dining brand
The newspaper is also more seriously turning its gaze nationwide, marking a critical turning point for a section that has long been a kingmaker of the New York City culinary scene.
The Times announced Wednesday morning that Tejal Rao and Ligaya Mishan will be its new chief restaurant critics. In naming two top food critics, a first for the Times, the storied newspaper signals ambitious growth for the beat as it tasks the pair with 'capturing this moment in American dining.' The news comes almost one year after Pete Wells, the Times' legendary food critic who served up reviews for 12 years, shared that he was stepping down from his role.
The Dining beat has long been a major draw for the Times. Under Wells, the section developed a reputation for making or breaking a restaurant's business with a single review, leading many to consider the section the gold standard for dining coverage.
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Sign up here to receive Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter in your inbox. In tinkering with the recipe, the Times aims to reproduce the massive successes it has seen in other sections that have diversified storytelling media to meet audiences where they are, notably Cooking. While many have turned to the Cooking section for everyday recipes since its 2014 launch, the section's stories and videos have also proved immensely popular. In 2024, the Cooking website raked in 456 million visits, while the NYT Cooking YouTube account saw more than 4.3 million hours streamed.
Younger digital publications such as Eater and Infatuation have capitalized on consumers' appetite for video, producing reviews for YouTube and social media platforms that rake in thousands of views. The Times' new approach echoes those of its peers while also helping to set it apart from its Dining rivals across legacy media.
Since Wells' departure, Priya Krishna and Melissa Clark — known to many as stalwarts of the Times' Cooking app — have operated as interim critics.
As co-chief critics, Rao and Mishan will be deployed to review restaurants nationwide, allowing the Times to review more restaurants outside the five boroughs. Mishan will be based out of New York City, while Rao will operate out of California, and the pair will review restaurants in their respective cities.
To better whet audiences' palates, the Times will produce videos with Rao and Mishan that will appear across its app and off-platform channels. The videos will feature interviews with people about 'restaurants, criticism, places that excite them and how they do what they do.'
'It's a tool in building trust, and a way to bring a whole new level of transparency and humanity to our criticism,' the Times said in its announcement.
Despite adopting a less New York-centric approach, the Gray Lady signaled that it will keep its fingers on the city's culinary pulse. To do so, the Times will work with critic-contributors to recommend a wider array of restaurants and provide brief starred reviews to its audience each month. But stars, previously exclusive to New York dining, will now also be awarded to restaurants across the country.
While the co-chief critics will still work to operate undetected, the Times will no longer try to hide critics' faces publicly. Traditionally, the Times maintained its critics' anonymity to avoid special treatment and more honestly assess the average dining experience. The policy has been deemed impractical since restaurants have been able to identify critics despite these efforts. The newspaper will continue to foot the bill on meals for ethical reasons and decline dining invitations from restaurants and publicists alike.
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