Teaches at 92nd Street Y
John Becker
John Becker, great-grandson of Irma Rombauer, grew up surrounded by the natural splendor of the Pacific Northwest. Spending his childhood between Portland, Oregon and the Becker family home in Cincinnati, John learned to appreciate a range of approaches to cooking. Influenced by his father Ethan’s improvisational style, and his mother’s love of international foods and spices, John has an insatiable curiosity when it comes to food and cooking. After earning an English degree, he helped publish seventeen collections of literary essays before dedicating himself to the family business and updating Joy for a new generation. John currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Megan.
Megan Scott
Megan Scott started worked for the Joy of Cooking in 2010, when she and John Becker met and immediately bonded over a shared love of blue cheese. Megan’s culinary education began in North Carolina, where she learned to cook from a long line of matriarchs. She grew up in a farming family, shucking corn and snapping green beans as far back as she can remember. She has been a cheesemaker’s apprentice, a baker and an assistant pastry chef, and in addition to her work for Joy she is the culinary director for a marketing agency that specializes in food. Megan lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband John and their two cats, Loki and Kishu.
Kat Kinsman
Kat Kinsman is a senior editor at Food & Wine, author of Hi, Anxiety: Life With a Bad Case of Nerves, host of Food & Wine’s Communal Table podcast and founder of Chefs With Issues. Previously, she was the senior food & drinks editor at Extra Crispy, editor-in-chief and editor at large at Tasting Table and the founding editor of CNN Eatocracy. She is a frequent public speaker on the topics of food and mental health.