Restaurant critic Soleil Ho to deliver Feb. 25 Convocation
In their presentation, “The New Wave of Food Criticism,” Ho will discuss their work as a critic and efforts to push back against assumptions that readers of food criticism are white and wealthy.
Soleil Ho, the restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, will deliver Carleton College’s convocation address on Friday, Feb. 25, from 10:50-11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. In their presentation, “The New Wave of Food Criticism,” they will discuss their work as a critic and efforts to push back against assumptions that readers of food criticism are white and wealthy.
Soleil Ho is a self-described “writer on the fish sauce beat” and restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. In that position, they have instituted a number of changes, including informing their readers up front that they were not going to use the words “ethnic” or “authentic” in restaurant reviews. They have also discussed the ethics of reviewing (or not) restaurants whose chefs or owners are implicated in cases of abuse.
In addition to their role at the Chronicle, Ho wears many hats. They’re a food, culture, and travel writer as well as the host of podcasts Racist Sandwich, Popaganda, and Extra Spicy. They have written about assimilation food, the politics and practice of eating dogs, and the curious culinary legacy of Asian immigration in Mexico. In addition, they are the co-writer of MEAL, a graphic novel on culinary mentorship, queer romance, and eating insects. Their work has appeared in the anthologies Women on Food and the 2019 and 2021 editions of The Best American Food Writing.
Ho is the 2018 recipient of a Southern Food Ways Alliance Smith Symposium Fellowship and a UC Berkeley 11th hour Food and Farming Journalism Fellowship.
Ho received their B.A. from Grinnell College in 2009.
Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Masks are required, and visitors are expected to be fully vaccinated and boosted (if eligible) or to have received a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 24 hours before attending an event. Find upcoming events and archived recordings on the Convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-5461.