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Denise Landis (born Denise Evelyn Tillar, 1954) is a British-born American food writer, editor, cookbook author, and recipe tester and developer. She is a recipe tester for the New York Times, a position she has been holding for over twenty-five years. She is the editor of the first international food magazine for professional and aspiring food writers, The Cook’s Cook: A Magazine for Cooks, Food Writers & Recipe Testers.
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Education and career
Denise Tillar Landis has a B.A. degree in cultural anthropology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She was employed as a professional contract archaeologist between 1976 and 1983, working in various locations around the country. In 1983 she met and married James David Landis, then Editor-in-Chief of William Morrow & Co., Inc.
In 1985, she was hired by Carol Shaw as a freelance recipe tester for the New York Times, she held that position for over twenty-five years before leaving to publish the first international food magazine for professional and aspiring food writers, The Cook’s Cook: A Magazine for Cooks, Food Writers & Recipe Testers.
Landis' career in the food world began when she took a short-term job testing a few recipes for Maria Guarnaschelli, a cookbook editor at William Morrow. It evolved into a freelance job that she performed for two years before she was hired by Carol Shaw as a freelance recipe tester for the Living Section of the New York Times, a job she held for over twenty-five years.
In 2001, Michalene Busico, then Dining section editor at the New York Times, invited Landis to begin writing for the section. Her subsequent contributions included the Test Kitchen column, reviews of kitchen ware, Diner’s Journal, articles for the Living section, and a Q&A food column called Food Chain. She also taught cooking classes for children (including a three-month-long afterschool class on Medieval cooking), and began writing articles on food and reviews of cooking products for the Times and other publications.
Personal life
Landis is married to James David Landis, an American author. Their son Jacob Dean is also a food and travel writer for Washington Post, Vibe, The New York Times, The A.V. Club, and Roads and Kingdoms.
The Cook's Cook
In 2013, Denise launched a full-length international digital magazine called The Cook's Cook: A Magazine for Cooks, Food Writers and Recipe Testers. The magazine is financially supported by traditional advertising as well as social media marketing services provided by Fanbase.
Dinner For Eight
Dinner for Eight is a collection of four seasons of dinner party recipes. The book includes simple, ethnic food recipes. Each of the forty menus features an appetizer, first course, main course, accompaniment and dessert, as well as a selection of suggested wine or beverage pairings.