On Wednesday, The New York Times officially ushered in a new era for its culinary coverage by assigning Ligaya Mishan as the new co-chief restaurant critic. Succeeding Pete Wells who left in 2024, Mishan becomes the first women of color to take on the role.
In a departure from the old tradition of anonymity that has long shrouded the role, Mishan alongside her partner, Tejal Rao, exposed themselves to readers by name—no longer concealing their identity—signaling a more personal chapter in the Times’ approach to food criticism.
Who Is Ligaya Mishan?
Early Life and Education Background
Ligaya Mishan is the daughter of an English-Filipino parent. Raised in Cotabato, her mother initially met her Englishman father during a summer program in Tokyo, Japan. The couple got married and decided to settle in Honolulu, Hawaii where Mishan spent most of her life. While the Filipino community is now considered the largest non-white community in Hawaii, Mishan recalls that the Filipino population there was considerably smaller than it is today.
As reported in Preview.ph, Mishan pursued her higher education and earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Princeton University. After graduating from Princeton University, Mishan took a master’s degree in creative writing and poetry from Cornell University.
Started As An “Accidental Food Writer”
Mishan’s milestone as a restaurant critic at The New York Times was not achieved overnight, in fact it was a result of nearly 21 years of steady work as a freelancer. With nearly more than two decades of experience in food writing, Mishan admits she happens to stumble upon the profession by chance—she just thought that it would be fun to write reviews about restaurants, according to Vice.
After years of having her works uncredited as a proofreader and copy editor, Mishan made her debut with a review on the temple of high-end sushi, 15 east in 2007.
In 2008, former critic Pete Wells offered Mishan a job as freelancer for the paper’s $25 and Under Section and even proposed Mishan as a candidate for chief food critic at the Times, but Mishan declined the role at that time due to her duty as a new mother.
The Hungry City Column
Mishan eventually made up a new column which she then named as “Hungry City”—focusing on eateries that are not yet reviewed by Wells and highlighting go-to neighborhood spots. As reported in New York Times, Mishan penned the Hungry City column from 2012 to 2020, while also contributing to the Eat column for the paper’s magazine.
Beyond the Times, her writings has been featured in The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books. Moreover, her richly reported cultural stories have appeared in both Food and T magazine, where she served as a prominent writer until recently.
Appointed as Co-Chief Restaurant Critic
Finally, in June 2025, Mishan alongside Tejal Rao were formally announced as chief restaurant critic at The New York Times. Mishan will reportedly focus on culinary spots in New York city while also doing coverage on the rest of the Nation with Rao. On the other side, the national dining sphere will be her comrade—Tejal Rao’s—main focus.
Mishan with her prose-like writings, keen intellect and meticulousness along with Rao’s vast culinary insight will now work together in covering America’s culinary scene in a more nationalized approach.
