McCart, editor of Eater NY, was presented with the Craig Claiborne Award at the CIA’s 2024 commencement ceremony

On April 18, Eater NY editor Melissa McCart was presented with the Craig Claiborne Award for Food Journalism by the Culinary Institute of America. Shared at the CIA’s annual commencement ceremony for new graduates, the award is named after the New York Times food editor and restaurant critic, Craig Claiborne, who died in 2000.

The Culinary Institute of America typically issues several awards at its multiple commencements ceremonies, recognizing major chefs and other figures in the restaurant world. CIA president Tim Ryan praised McCart at the commencement as “one of the nation’s outstanding food journalists.”

“I’m a superfan of the CIA and have been up there many times: The education at the school is tremendous. It means the world to me to have received an award from a school that I respect so much,” says McCart.

In November 2022, McCart was hired as the editor of Eater NY, where she oversees a team including two reporters and a dining critic. Prior to Eater NY, McCart worked as an editor, restaurant critic, and columnist for several publications including The Bittman Project, Broken Palate, Newsday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Broward Palm Beach New Times, NBC’s The Feast, and the Washington Post Express. Her freelance work has appeared in Wirecutter, Grub Street, Bon Appetit, Taste Cooking, Saveur, the Washington Post, and many more. McCart is a co-author, alongside Rick Easton, on the cookbook Bread and How to Eat It.