Andrew Knowlton
Andrew Knowlton (born c. 1976) was the Restaurant Editor at "Bon Appétit" magazine, where he worked from 2000 to 2018. Early life. Knowlton was born in Gainesville, Florida and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Knowlton graduated from Greater Atlanta Christian School in 1993 and from Bates College in 1997. Career. Prior to working at "Bon Appétit", Knowlton worked for "Lingua Franca" magazine, as well as in the restaurant industry. He was in charge of "Bon Appétit"'s blog presence and the editor of the restaurant section of the magazine. He wrote the monthly Restaurant Reporter column, as well as  contributed to Starters, the magazine's opening section, writing about overlaps between food and pop culture. He also wrote for the magazine about wine, spirits, and cocktails. He was the editor of the "Bon Appétit" blog, and co-hosted the weekly "Bon Appétit" podcast. After appearing as a judge on "Iron Chef America", in the fall of 2007, he appeared on the Food Network's "The Next Iron Chef", acting as a judge for the entire series. In 2018, he appeared as the host for the Netflix cooking show The Final Table. He has also appeared on NBC's "Today  Show", the CBS "Early Show", CNBC, and National Public Radio. Controversy. During the course of "The Next Iron Chef", many people perceived Knowlton as being too hard on Chef Aarón Sanchez. Anthony Bourdain said that "Knowlton seems not to have disclosed a prior schoolyard incident with a young Aaron "El Guapo" Sanchez—in which Sanchez (it would appear) bullied him mercilessly. He seemed unnaturally eager to send him packing." Michael Ruhlman referred to Knowlton as "cranky," and said Knowlton "is every bit the menace he appears. And it was hard to get to know him off camera—he had a  lot of handlers, so it was difficult to get any time with him." Ruhlman intended the comments as a joke, but people responding on his website and others let go on Knowlton with abandon. In February 2021, the podcast "Reply All" released an episode titled "The Test Kitchen, Chapter 1" that included several first-hand accounts from former employees of verbal harassment and casual racism from Knowlton while working at "Bon Appétit" magazine. Personal life. Knowlton is married to Christina Skogly and lives in Austin, Texas.