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Accomplished and versatile journalist Jamila Robinson will depart The Philadelphia Inquirer to succeed Dawn Davis at Bon Appétit and Epicurious.
Bon Appétit magazine has found a new leader in Jamila Robinson — and she’s reportedly a renaissance woman.
“It’s not every day you get to meet an accomplished writer and editor who has led features departments and food organizations, is a competitive [figure] skater, classically trained violinist, teacher, world traveler, and is an absolute whiz in the kitchen,” said Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue, in a statement Monday announcing Robinson’s appointment as editor-in-chief of Bon Appétit and its sister website, Epicurious.
“Jamila is all of these things and more and I’m thrilled she’s coming to lead Bon Appétit and Epicurious,” added Wintour.
Robinson departs The Philadelphia Inquirer, where she joined the staff as food editor in 2020 before a 2021 promotion to assistant managing editor of food and culture. A Detroit native who attended the city’s famed Cass Technical Institute, Robinson previously held posts as editorial director for Atlantic Media, senior editor for features at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and senior content strategist for the USA Today Network, where her editorial oversight included USA Today’s Wine and Food Experience. She has also chaired the James Beard Foundation (JBF) Journalism Committee, served as coach and mentor for the JBF Fellowship Program, and is the North America East Academy Chair of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Credited with reimagining much of The Inquirer’s editorial tone and scope, Robinson “refocused its restaurant coverage, centering the experience of the communities who cook and build local food businesses,” reports the outlet. Those changes included working with popular food critic Craig LaBan to revamp the outlet’s restaurant review system in a way that “echoed a more contemporary way of helping readers understand how restaurants fit into our city’s cultural landscape.”
As Robinson explained during an appearance on theGrio’s “Blackest Questions” podcast: “[B]ecause food is universal, it touches every sector of what we do in journalism, whether that is politics or the economy, immigration, entertainment. You can’t talk about sports without talking about food. You can’t talk about immigration without talking about food. And you can’t talk about restaurants without talking about the economy.”
“And so I found that to be the greatest pathway for deeper engagement,” she continued. “And it just helps me do my job better as newspapers and other media organizations are going through this transition, this digital transformation. … [food is] the most direct pathway to transformation because everybody has to do it. Everybody has to experience it. And you can frame food in so many different directions.”
“[Robinson’s] approach to covering food is as social as it is sociological,” said Gabriel Escobar, editor and senior vice president of The Inquirer. “It goes beyond recipe making and recipe tasting and has led to some of our [paper’s] most ambitious projects.”
One of those projects was the Emmy-winning “Wildest Dreams: An Anthology of Black Inheritance,” a “multimedia project of photos, essays, and poems about Black joy presented by The Inquirer’s Black journalists,” for which Robinson was the lead editor.
“She has this ability to turn a simple and vague idea into something concrete and relatable,” said Escobar. “That’s a rare skill.”
In addition to her editorial achievements, Robinson reportedly helped steer diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at The Inquirer during a crucial time.
“When The Inquirer newsroom went through its own racial reckoning — that is still a work in progress — her leadership was especially important,” Escobar explained. “She’s a thoughtful, measured person and when she speaks, people listen and listen carefully. That’s the mark of a real leader.”
Assuming the helm at Bon Appétit and Epicurious, Robinson will succeed Dawn Davis, who made history as the magazine’s first Black female editor-in-chief in 2020 and one of very few at parent company Condé Nast. Davis’ appointment was announced amid allegations of racism involving her predecessor, Adam Rapoport, and wider-spread DE&I issues at Condé Nast. A book publishing industry veteran, Davis led the imprint to multiple James Beard and American Society of Magazine Editors award nominations. Having resigned from Bon Appétit in April, Davis will return to the publishing world as an executive at Simon & Schuster.
Due to begin the position on Sept. 18, Robinson will relocate to New York City to helm the 67-year-old magazine, which currently boasts “over 5.7 million print readers, 17 million social followers, and nearly 10 million monthly unique digital users,” according to The Inquirer. Reporting directly to Wintour, Robinson “will steer Bon Appétit’s editorial direction, brand strategy, audience development, and all content for Bon Appétit and Epicurious.”
As Robinson told The Inquirer, she’s excited to inform and expand the palates of both brands’ audiences and the food world at large.
“My philosophy is not only to tell people where to eat but also to show why restaurants matter and why Philadelphia is a world-class food city,” she said. “That’s why I’m excited about this new role at Bon Appétit. The idea that food culture is for everyone becomes more expansive.”
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