John Martin Taylor

John Martin Taylor, also known as Hoppin' John, is an American food writer and culinary historian, known for his writing on thecooking of the American South, and, in particular, thefoods of the lowcountry, thecoastal plainofSouth CarolinaandGeorgia.He has played a role in reintroducing many traditional southern dishes, and has advocated the return tostone-ground,whole-grain,heirloomgritsandcornmealproduction.
Taylor was born inLouisiana, moving to theSouth Carolina Lowcountrywhen he was 3. The son of scientists, he spent much of his youth aboard the family's boats. His mother was an adventurous cook and cookbook collector and his father was a wine lover. He received a B.A. in journalism from theUniversity of Georgia(UGA) in 1971. In 1977 he earned a Master of Arts in Film, also from UGA.
From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, Taylor lived in theCaribbean,Paris, andGenoa. In 1983 he joined the staff of the new French-language magazine,Ici New York, as their American liaison and food editor. He has written for such publications asThe New York Times,Gourmet,Bon Appétit,Food & WineandThe Washington Post.
In 1986, Taylor opened his culinary bookstore, Hoppin' John's, in downtownCharleston, South Carolina. He had begun researching the culinary history of the area after interviewing the scholarKaren Hesson the history of Thanksgiving. In 1989,Hurricane HugohitCharleston. Taylor wrote his first book during the year that his business was closed for repairs. He was involved in forming the downtown farmers’ market in Charleston, where he sold stone-groundgritsandcornmeal. When he reopened the store, he expanded it to include a cooking school. He closed the storefront in 1999, but continued to sell his corn products online at his eponymous website, HoppinJohns.com.In 2019, he sold the business to his niece, Sarah Taylor Ferrell, of Durham, North Carolina.
Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking(1992), Taylor's first book, was included in a roundup of "intellectual" food books byThe New York Timesin 1992.Southern LivingMagazinecalled the cookbook "scholarly".It was included in a roundup of "intellectual" food books byThe New York Timesin 1992.
His second book,The New Southern Cook, was included in a roundup of Southern classics byThe New York Timesin 1995.
TheNew York Times MagazinecalledThe Fearless Frying Cookbook"extremely user-friendly" and that it would "eventually become the bible on the topic".He was a founding member of theSouthern Foodways Alliance.
Other books he has written includeHoppin’ John’s Charleston, Beaufort & Savannah(1997), which featured Taylor's photography as well as his history and recipes.
GourmetMagazinehas featured Taylor since the 1980s. Taylor writes about food and travel on his blog,. He is a consultant to the food industry and a speaker at U.S. museums and symposia. In 2010, he spoke at the Historic New Orleans Foundation,Monticello, and theSmithsonian.He was the keynote speaker at the International Corporate Chefs Association andgrand marshalof the Pig Island Celebration in New York.
In 2012, the University of North Carolina Press published the 20th Anniversary Edition of Hoppin’ John's Lowcountry Cooking, with a new preface by Taylor. The book has remained in print since its initial publication.
in 2018, in preparation to move overseas again, Taylor donated his culinary library to the International Culinary Institute of Myrtle Beachand his papers to the College of Charleston.He was also awarded the Amelia Award by the Culinary Historians of New York for expertise "in culinary history, with deep knowledge in the field. And ... for a having "demonstrated generosity and extraordinary support to others in the field, helping to shape and elevate culinary history into the academically-respected discipline that it is today."
In 2022, Taylor wrote the Foreword to a new edition of Karen Hess'sThe Carolina Rice Kitchen: The African Connection, and the University of South Carolina Press published an anthology of 35 years of his writing.
In 2010, he married his longtime partner, Mikel Lane Herrington, in Washington, DC. In 2011, the couple moved to Sofia, Bulgaria, where Herrington was the Peace Corps Country Director. In 2013, Taylor and Herrington moved to Chengdu, China, where Herrington was Peace Corps Country Director. From 2015 to 2019, they split their time between Savannah, Georgia, and Washington.
In 2019, Taylor moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where Herrington is the Peace Corps Country Director. In 2023, they moved to Hanoi, Vietnam, where Herrington is the Peace Corps Country Director of the new mission there.