Tammie Teclemariam

Tammie Teclemariam (born c. 1990) is an American freelance food and wine writer. She is known for her social media posts about alleged racism in food and wine media organizations.

Teclemariam with her dog, Buffer

Early life and education

Teclemariam was born about 1990 to Eritrean immigrants and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland.[1] Her father is a librarian.[1] At 16 she started attending St. John's College in Annapolis.[1] She moved to France to go to pastry school, graduating from St. John's afterward.[1] She did an apprenticeship in viticulture and winemaking at Clos Centeilles in Minervois, France.[2]

Career

Teclemariam got a sales job for a wine importer.[1] In 2015 she got an internship at Eater.[1] She worked in wine shops to develop her wine knowledge and calls herself a "wine unprofessional".[1][3] She started freelancing as a food and wine writer.[1][3][4] She has written about food and wine for Wine Enthusiast, Eater, Taste, Epicurious, and Wirecutter.[1][4]

In the immediate aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, Teclemariam attended protests and felt "motivated to continue to fight for justice."[5] On June 8, 2020, she tweeted a photo of Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport at a 2004 costume party, a photo taken days after he'd rejected a pitch for a story about Puerto Rican food from Illyanna Maisonet, who is Puerto Rican.[1][3][6][7] The photo showed Rappoport dressed in a "stereotypical Puerto Rican costume" of do-rag, sleeveless undershirt, and chains.[1][8][9][10] Teclemariam captioned the photo, “I do not know why Adam Rapoport simply doesn’t write about Puerto Rican food for @bonAppétit himself!!!”[1][11][12] By the end of the day Rappoport, who had been criticized multiple times for his treatment of minority staffers, had resigned.[1][3][11][13][14] The New York Times said her tweet helped spur "a reckoning over institutional racism at the magazine."[3]

According to GrubStreet, Teclemariam's Twitter feed quickly became the "Page Six" of the food and wine media.[1] On June 9, 2020, Teclemarian tweeted about a Confederate-flag cake that Alex Delany, Bon Appetit drinks editor and Test Kitchen cast member, had posted to his Tumblr.[7][15] Teclemariam called for the removal of Matt Duckor, the VP of video for Conde-Nast, who resigned the next day.[1][11][9] She tweeted a multipost thread of allegations about Peter Meehan, editor of the Los Angeles Times food section, and two days later he resigned.[1][13][5] Multiple LA Times staffers said that without Teclemariam's twitter thread, the conversation that led to his resignation would not have happened.[13]

The New York Times profiled her in a piece about Black wine professionals.[3]

Personal life

Teclemariam lives in the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, with five housemates.[1][3] She has a rescue dog.[1]

References
  1. Richardson, Nikita (August 17, 2020). "Drinking With Food Media's Flamethrower". Grub Street. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  2. "The Best Wine Glasses". The New York Times. 2019-11-06. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  3. Asimov, Eric (June 29, 2020). "Black Wine Professionals Demand to Be Seen". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  4. "'The Four Top': Reenvisioning food media for an equitable future". opb. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  5. Mooney, Taylor; Sherman, Justin (August 13, 2020). "How "cancel culture" changed these three lives forever". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  6. "A Reckoning At Bon Appétit". Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  7. Curto, Justin (July 24, 2020). "Everything to Know About the Media's Reckoning With Abuse of Power". Vulture. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  8. "Bon Appetit editor resigns over 'racist culture'". BBC News. June 9, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  9. Addison, Bill (June 13, 2020). "Bon Appétit, American food media and the need for change". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  10. Premack, Rachel. "Bon Appétit video editor Matt Hunziker has returned to work after a suspension — but co-workers say his forced leave shows how Condé Nast is stifling voices of dissent". Business Insider. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  11. "The Sporkful: Tammie Teclemariam". June 13, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  12. Severson, Kim (June 8, 2020). "Bon Appétit Editor Adam Rapoport Resigns". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  13. McCarron, Meghan (August 21, 2020). "The Boundary Pusher". Eater. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  14. "The 'Bon Appétit' Test Kitchen and the Myth of the Happy Workplace". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  15. "A Bon Appétit editor has apologized after a photo of a Confederate flag cake that he made resurfaced". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
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