Taste Makers

“A fascinating and impeccably researched book. Taste Makers is a joyous celebration of the cooks whose lives have enriched so much of our cooking and eating.” – Nigel Slater“Taste Makers is essential history for understanding American food’s current reckoning with inclusion and diversity.” – John Birdsall, author of The Man Who Ate Too Much“Sen is a sensitive and perceptive journalist and a deft historian; his willingness to let his subjects speak for themselves whenever possible gives his book a compelling power… he succeeds in amplifying the voices of seven overlooked women to the levels that they always deserved.” – Hetty McKinnon - The New York Times“Through his seven portraits, Sen restores a missing part of American culinary history, drawing on interviews, reviews and menus to create a compelling story about the love of food, the pull of the tastes of one’s homeland, the delicious pleasure of sharing the richness and complexity of your most cherished recipes with strangers at your table.” – Nilanajana Roy - Financial TImes”[Sen] paints a vivid, complex picture of his subjects… Sen is an excellent storyteller, and his portraits are immersive. Taste Makers is a well-researched book that shines light on seven women who helped to change culinary tastes in America.” – The Spectator

Mayukh Sen is the James Beard Award–winning author of Taste Makers. He is a 2025 Fellow at New America. He teaches film and television journalism at New York University and lives in Brooklyn, New York.