Walsh, Robb 1952-

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WALSH, Robb 1952-

PERSONAL: Born December 11, 1952, in NC; Ethnicity: "Irish Russian." Education: University of Texas—Austin, B.A., 1977. Hobbies and other interests: Golf.

ADDRESSES: Home—5908 Belfast Dr., Austin, TX 78723; fax 512-452-5850. Agent—Martha Casselman, Box 342, Calistoga, CA 94515. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Judge, Clicquot Wine Book of the Year Award, 1997-99; commentator, National Public Radio, 1998—. Food editor, Austin Chronicle, 1991-94; editor in chief, Chile Pepper, 1999-2000; Houston Press lead restaurant reviewer and food writer, 2000—. Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival, founder and head judge.

MEMBER: International Association of Culinary Professionals.

AWARDS, HONORS: Journalism Award for best magazine feature writing with recipes, 1996, best radio segment on food, 1999, James Beard Foundation.

WRITINGS:

Kingdom of the Dwarfs, illustrations by David Wenzel, Centaur Books (New York, NY), 1980.

(With Jay McCarthy) Traveling Jamaica with Knife, Fork, and Spoon, Crossing Press (Trumansburg, NY), 1995.

(With David Garrido) Nuevo Tex-Mex: Festive New Recipes from Just North of the Border, foreword by Stephan Pyles, photographs by Manny Rodriquez, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 1998.

(With Grady Spears) A Cowboy in the Kitchen: Recipes from Reata and Texas West of the Pecos, Ten Speed Press (Berkeley, CA), 1998.

Legends of Texas Barbecue: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2002.

Are You Really Going to Eat That? Adventures of a Culinary Thrillseeker, Counterpoint Press (New York, NY), 2003.

The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos, Broadway (New York, NY), 2004.

Food columnist, Natural History, 1995-99. Contributor to periodicals, including American Way, Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle, and Los Angeles Times.

SIDELIGHTS: Robb Walsh is a food writer whose publications include works on recipes originating from the Texas-Mexico region of North America. In 1998, for example, Walsh collaborated with David Garrido in producing Nuevo Tex-Mex: Festive New Recipes from Just North of the Border, and he teamed with Grady Spears in publishing A Cowboy in the Kitchen: Recipes from Reata and Texas West of the Pecos. Four years later, Walsh issued Legends of Texas Barbecue: Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses, which relates history and regional analysis while also serving as a cookbook. In the volume, Walsh charts the evolution of barbecue cooking in Texas, and he examines regional preferences, noting that east Texans favor pork while west Texans often cook goat and beef head.

Legends of Texas Barbecue has been acknowledged as a notable addition to the genre of regional cookbooks. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Charles Perry noted that Walsh's book "stands out" among the slew of barbecue cookbooks that appeared during the summer of 2002. "It includes plenty of recipes," affirmed Perry, "but the best part is the fascinating lore about the history and folkways of Texas barbecue." Another critic, Dwight Garner, declared in the New York Times Book Review that Legends of Texas Barbecue is "worth knowing about," and he found it "pleasantly nostalgic."

In addition to writing cookbooks, Walsh has served as a food writer for such publications as Natural History and the Houston Press. He has also worked as an editor at both the Austin Chronicle and the Chile Pepper, and he has appeared as a judge at various cooking competitions.