Russ Parsons is the food editor and columnist of the Los Angeles Times. He has been writing about food for 25 years, including almost 20 years at The Times, where he has also been managing editor, and deputy editor. He is the author of the cookbooks "How to Read a French Fry" and "How to Pick a Peach", which were published by Houghton-Mifflin. In 2008 he was inducted into the James Beard Foundation?s Who?s Who of Food and Beverage, the hall of fame of American cooking. He has won many food journalism awards, including those from the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the Association of Food Journalists, the James Beard Foundation and the University of Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Awards. "How to Read a French Fry" was a finalist for two Julia Child cookbook awards. ?How to Pick a Peach,? which was published in 2007, was named one of the best 100 books of the year by both Publisher?s Weekly and Amazon. Before coming to The Times, he was food editor at the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, food editor at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and food editor at the Albuquerque Tribune. [More at Wikipedia]