Laurie Ochoa

Laurie Ochoa is an American journalist and food critic.

Laurie Ochoa
Laurie Ochoa (left) in February 2008
Born
Whittier, California
OccupationJournalist, food writer
Spouse(s)Jonathan Gold (m. 1990)

After beginning her career at the alternative newspaper LA Weekly, Ochoa became a writer and editor for the Los Angeles Times. She then was hired as executive editor at Gourmet before moving back to Los Angeles to lead LA Weekly. She has since returned to the Times as its arts and entertainment editor.

Early life

Ochoa was born in Whittier, California. She had an early interest in journalism, interning in college at CNN before graduating in 1984.[1][2]

Career

Ochoa began her print journalism career as an intern at LA Weekly in 1984.[3] She went on to write for the alt weekly and serve as special sections editor there until 1988.[4]

She then left to become an editor and writer at the Los Angeles Times, working in the Calendar and Food sections.[5][6] In 1999, she was hired by Ruth Reichl, who had previously hired her at the Times, as executive editor of Gourmet in New York.[7][8]

In 2001, Ochoa returned to Los Angeles to work as editor in chief of LA Weekly.[7][4] She resigned from her role at the publication in 2009.[4][5] She then returned to the Los Angeles Times in 2012 as the paper's arts and entertainment editor.[8][9][6][10]

In 2010, she founded the quarterly literary magazine Slake alongside Joe Donnelly.[11]

Ochoa is president of the California Chicano News Media Association.[12]

Awards and recognition

Ochoa is the recipient of two James Beard Foundation Awards: Best Newspaper Series in 1997 for her work at the Los Angeles Times, and Best Magazine or Newspaper Series in 2001 for her work at Gourmet alongside David Karp and Warren Schultz.

She was also nominated in 1998 for Best Newspaper Series for her work at the Los Angeles Times, and in 1997 for her work with Nancy Silverton on the book Nancy Silverton's Bread from The La Brea Bakery: Recipes For The Connoisseur.[13]

Personal life

Ochoa married Jonathan Gold in 1990. The couple met while both were working at LA Weekly in 1984. They subsequently followed each other to work together at other publications, including Gourmet and the Los Angeles Times. They had two children, Isabel and Leon.[5] Gold died of pancreatic cancer in 2018.[3]

References
  1. Smith, RJ (April 2002). "Ping-Pong Diplomacy". Los Angeles Magazine.
  2. Ochoa, Laurie (2003-12-11). "Editor's Letter". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  3. Wells, Pete (2018-07-22). "Jonathan Gold, Food Critic Who Celebrated L.A.'s Cornucopia, Dies at 57 (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  4. "For Immediate Release: LA Weekly, Editor to Part Ways". LA Weekly. 2009-06-01. Archived from the original on 2009-06-11.
  5. Goodyear, Dana (2009-11-02). "The Scavenger". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  6. Roderick, Kevin (2012-06-20). "Times names new entertainment editor, brings back Laurie Ochoa". LA Observed. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  7. Reichl, Ruth (2019). Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir (First ed.). New York. ISBN 978-1-4000-6999-6. OCLC 1039202373.
  8. Birdsall, John (2019-04-03). "Q&A: Ruth Reichl on breaking through the machismo of restaurant and publishing worlds". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  9. "'Los Angeles Times' Entertainment Editor Laurie Ochoa | In the Green Room". Zócalo Public Square. 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  10. Ochoa, Laurie (2020-08-29). "Essential Arts: The Chicano Moratorium, a catalytic moment 50 years ago today". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  11. Ogilvie, Jessica P. (2011-07-22). "LAist Interview: Slake Editors Laurie Ochoa and Joe Donnelly". LAist. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  12. "Board of Directors". CCNMA. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  13. "Awards Search | Ochoa". James Beard Foundation. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
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