Soleil Ho (born 1987 or 1988)[1] is an American chef, food writer, podcaster, and restaurant critic. Formerly co-host of the podcast The Racist Sandwich,[2] Ho became the food critic at the San Francisco Chronicle in 2019, replacing Michael Bauer.[1] Ho left the position in 2023, becoming a part of the Chronicle's opinion desk.[3]

Life and career

Born into a Vietnamese-American family, Ho was raised in New York and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 2005.[4] According to Ho, they were embarrassed as a child by the "brothy, weirdly fishy" dishes that their family ate, at least in part because of how other children might react. Ho graduated from Grinnell College in 2009.[1]

As a chef, Ho has worked at restaurants in New Orleans, Minneapolis,[5] Portland, Oregon, and Puerto Vallarta, where their mother owned a restaurant.[1]

In 2019, they replaced Michael Bauer, who retired after 32 years as the restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle.[5] Ho has joked that Bauer, their predecessor at the newspaper, held the job since they were "not even a fetus".[1]

Literary works

Ho is careful about the connotations of the words they select. A specific example is that they do not use the term "kaffir lime" because kaffir is a racial slur in South Africa. More generally, they do not think that "ethnic" food is a legitimate concept. Ho says "The imprecision of the word—and the assumption that it doesn’t apply equally to people and cuisines associated with Europe or white America—gives me such a headache."[6] They consider terms like "sustainable," "responsibly grown" and "farm-to-table" to be marketing buzzwords that are too often abused.[7]

Ho mentions poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib, food critic Ruth Reichl and newspaper critic-at-large Wesley Morris as among their influences. Ho says that they want to write about restaurants that "tell a story" which may focus on "race, gender, class or the culture of the Bay Area".[1]

They co-authored Meal with Blue Delliquanti. The book is described as a "graphic novel on culinary mentorship, queer romance, and eating insects".[5]

Concerned about their legacy in a high-profile position, Ho commented, "What if I screw up and no one ever hires a queer woman of color for a role like this again?"[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Judkis, Maura (March 8, 2019). "Soleil Ho is a young, queer woman of color who wants to redefine food criticism". Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  2. ↑ Hung, Melissa (December 14, 2017). "'Racist Sandwich': This podcast wants you to think critically about race and food". NBC News.
  3. ↑ Crowley, Chris (8 February 2023). "Why San Francisco's Top Restaurant Critic Is Resigning After Just Four Years". Grub Street. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  4. ↑ Barry, Dan (2005-06-25). "For This Class, 'Remember When' Mingles With 'Never Forget'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  5. 1 2 3 Carman, Tim (December 5, 2018). "San Francisco Chronicle hires writer and 'Racist Sandwich' podcast host Soleil Ho as its new restaurant critic". Washington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  6. ↑ Oatman, Maddie (March 23, 2019). "Stop Calling It "Ethnic Food"—and More Tips on How to Talk About Eating". Mother Jones. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  7. ↑ Barmann, Jay (February 28, 2019). "New Chronicle Critic Soleil Ho Drops a Doozy of a Review of Chez Panisse, Calls It 'Stale'". SFist. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  8. ↑ Rainey, Clint (February 4, 2019). "Meet Soleil Ho, America's Newest Restaurant Critic". Grubstreet. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
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