Soleil Ho
Soleil Ho (born 1987 or 1988)[1] is an American chef, food writer, podcaster, and restaurant critic. They were formerly co-host of the podcast The Racist Sandwich.[2]
Ho became the food critic at the San Francisco Chronicle in 2019, replacing Michael Bauer.[1] Ho left the position in 2023, becoming a part of the Chronicle's opinion desk.[3] Ho was awarded the James Beard Award for Criticism in 2022, and was nominated for the same award in 2020 and 2023.[4]
Early life and education
[edit]Born into a Vietnamese-American family in rural Illinois, Ho was raised in the East Side of Manhattan, New York at age 8 with their mother Francie, who worked in the fashion industry, and their sister.[5]
They grew up in all over both Brooklyn, New York and Manhattan, which includes Williamsburg, Brooklyn.[6][7] They graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 2005.[8] Ho graduated from Grinnell College in 2009.[1]
Career
[edit]As a chef, Ho has worked at restaurants in New Orleans, Minneapolis,[9] Portland, Oregon, and Puerto Vallarta, where their mother owned a restaurant.[1]
Ho and journalist Zahir Janmohamed launched a podcast titled Racist Sandwich about under-reported issues in the food industry in 2016; one of their listeners, artist and writer Blue Delliquanti, collaborated with them on the 2017 graphic novel MEAL about "eating bugs, queer desire, and opening a restaurant".
In 2019, they replaced Michael Bauer, who retired after 32 years as the restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle.[9] Ho has joked that Bauer, their predecessor at the newspaper, held the job since they were "not even a fetus".[1] In their first year, they produced a new methodology for the Chronicle's listicles, prioritizing diversity, affordability and localness, detailing ADA compliance and plant-based options, using public transportation, and eliminating starred reviews.[5]
Literary works
[edit]Ho is careful about the connotations of the words they select. A specific example is that they do not use the term "kaffir lime" because kaffir is a racial slur in South Africa. More generally, they do not think that "ethnic" food is a legitimate concept. Ho says "The imprecision of the word—and the assumption that it doesn’t apply equally to people and cuisines associated with Europe or white America—gives me such a headache."[10] They consider terms like "sustainable," "responsibly grown" and "farm-to-table" to be marketing buzzwords that are too often abused.[11] Ho is especially critical of gentrification in their writing, expressing concern that food writing can function as "the language of real estate marketing".[5]
Ho mentions poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib, food critic Ruth Reichl and newspaper critic-at-large Wesley Morris as among their influences. Ho says that they want to write about restaurants that "tell a story" which may focus on "race, gender, class or the culture of the Bay Area".[1]
Ho and journalist Zahir Janmohamed launched a podcast titled Racist Sandwich about under-reported issues in the food industry in 2016; one of their listeners, Blue Delliquanti, co-authored a graphic novel titled Meal with them the next year. The book is described as a "graphic novel on culinary mentorship, queer romance, and eating insects".[5][9]
Concerned about their legacy in a high-profile position, Ho commented, "What if I screw up and no one ever hires a queer woman of color for a role like this again?"[12]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Judkis, Maura (March 8, 2019). "Soleil Ho is a young, queer woman of color who wants to redefine food criticism". Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
- ↑ Hung, Melissa (December 14, 2017). "'Racist Sandwich': This podcast wants you to think critically about race and food". NBC News.
- ↑ Crowley, Chris (8 February 2023). "Why San Francisco's Top Restaurant Critic Is Resigning After Just Four Years". Grub Street. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ↑ "Awards Search | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
- 1 2 3 4 Kirts, Leo (19 July 2024). "Meet the Nonbinary Food Writer Reimagining Restaurant Criticism". Them. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
- ↑ Birdsall, John. "Soleil Ho Is (Still Eating Their Feelings". Edible San Francisco. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
- ↑ "Soleil Ho". Storied San Francisco. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
- ↑ Barry, Dan (2005-06-25). "For This Class, 'Remember When' Mingles With 'Never Forget'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
- 1 2 3 Carman, Tim (December 5, 2018). "San Francisco Chronicle hires writer and 'Racist Sandwich' podcast host Soleil Ho as its new restaurant critic". Washington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ↑ Oatman, Maddie (March 23, 2019). "Stop Calling It "Ethnic Food"—and More Tips on How to Talk About Eating". Mother Jones. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ↑ Barmann, Jay (February 28, 2019). "New Chronicle Critic Soleil Ho Drops a Doozy of a Review of Chez Panisse, Calls It 'Stale'". SFist. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ↑ Rainey, Clint (February 4, 2019). "Meet Soleil Ho, America's Newest Restaurant Critic". Grubstreet. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
External links
[edit]- Soleil Ho: writer on the fish sauce beat
- S.F. Chronicle restaurant critic Soleil Ho wins James Beard Award for criticism
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- Living people
- Stuyvesant High School alumni
- Grinnell College alumni
- San Francisco Chronicle people
- American restaurant critics
- American writers of Vietnamese descent
- American LGBTQ people of Asian descent
- American LGBTQ writers
- LGBTQ people from New York (state)
- 21st-century American writers
- American food writers
- American women food writers
- Writers from New York City
- American food and drink podcasters
- People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn