John Martin Taylor

John Martin Taylor, also known as Hoppin' John, is an American food writer and culinary historian, best known for his expertise on the cooking of the American South, and, in particular, the foods of the lowcountry, the coastal plain of South Carolina and Georgia.The New York Times referred to him as "the lowcountry food maven" in a 2006 travel article about Charleston’s culinary scene. He is often credited with restoring many traditional southern dishes, and he advocated the return to stone-ground, whole-grain, heirloom grits and cornmeal production. Gourmet magazine said of Taylor in a March 2006 article: "Artisanal food supplier and cookbook author John Martin Taylor...fueled the back-to-the-stone-ground-grits movement.... Taylor's coarse grits and more finely ground cornmeal are used as polenta from Puglia to Puget Sound."Charleston Magazine named Taylor one of the city's Top 100 Most Influential people in its 337-year history: "Before Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking was published in 1992, Charleston cuisine was unfocused. Thanks to Taylor, we took pride in our produce, seafood, biscuits, and sweet tea. And foodies of the world agreed." In an article that originally appeared in The Atlanta Journal, the culinary historian Karen Hess is quoted as saying, "I don't know of anyone who has done more for Southern cookery." The author of the article added, "Taylor has a Capote-esque acid wit, boyish charm and all-consuming passion for food that has won the writer a faithful following."

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