John Mariani
Writer and Author

Author and writer John Mariani, nationally acclaimed columnist for Esquire, Wine Spectator, Bloomberg News and Radio, and Diversion is the guest host for The 2006 Connecticut Culinary Masters Classic.  He is considered to be the country's most respected national food critics and is a three-time nominee for the James Beard Journalism Award.  When "foodies" refer to the definitive "book" on food and drink, John Mariani wrote it.

He is the author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink (Lebhar-Friedman), Eating Out: Fearless Dining in Ethnic Restaurants (Quill), Mariani's Coast-to-Coast Dining Guide (Times Books), and America Eats Out (William Morrow). Mariani's most prominent books are The Four Seasons: A History of America's Premier restaurant (Crown); Vincent's Cookbook (Tenspeed Press), with chef Vincent Guerithault; The Dictionary of Italian Food & Drink (Broadway Books) which was nominated for an IACP award; and, with Marie Rama, Grilling for Dummies (IDG Books). John and his wife Galina published The Italian-American Cookbook (Harvard Common Press, which won the Foreword Magazine first prize in the cookbook category and was nominated for an IACP award in 2001.  John also writes the weekly Virtual Gourmet Newsletter and is restaurant columnist for Luxury.com, the on-line concierge service. Mariani was a 10-year member of the Restaurant Awards Committee of the James Beard Foundation, a Member of the Corporation of the Culinary Institute of America, member of the Chevalier des Coteux de Champagne, the Bregata Spendereccia, and the Corporation des Vignerons de Champagne.  He was born in New York City, received his B.A. from Iona College (from which he received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002), and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University.  He lives in Tuckahoe, NY, with his wife, Galina, and two sons, Michael and Christopher.  John is a supporter of many charities throughout the country and we're pleased to have his support for Connecticut Children's Medical Center and The Connecticut Culinary Masters Classic.