Joshua Weissman (born January 9, 1996, Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is an American chef, content creator, and cookbook author. He has an eponymous culinary YouTube Channel.
Biography
Joshua Weissman's interest in cooking began at age four. Heavily influenced by his mother's home cooking he decided to pursue a career in food very early on at age 10. Cooking daily for his parents, by age 15, he modified family recipes to be more gourmet which led him to start a food blog. His obsession with technique, frequent reading of culinary literature, and experimenting with various ingredients and methods helped him develop his skills. At this time he also assisted many food photography sets with food styling and recipe writing. Despite bullying for his weight and love of cooking during school, he continued in the culinary field. At age 16, he traveled to New York City to learn from chefs and culinary professionals.[1][2][unreliable source?]
At 16, with his parents' support, he lost over 100 pounds and published a cookbook about his weight loss. He discussed his struggle with body dysmorphia and diet-related issues, and these experiences have significantly shaped his approach to food and cooking.[3]
After highschool graduation, joshua chose not to go to college in order to continue furthering his culinary abilities. In 2014, at 18, Weissman moved to Austin, Texas, where he started working in restaurants professionally.[4] He worked at numerous restaurants during his cooking career. Most notably, Uchiko, a James Beard Award-winning restaurant, focusing on Japanese cuisine and fermentation.[5] In 2018, he began creating YouTube videos regularly about food and cooking on the side while working in restaurants.[6] At the end of 2019 he left his restaurant line cook job to focus entirely on building his company.[7] In addition to YouTube, he is active on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, where he shares food preparation and review content.[8][9]
In 2021, Weissman published Joshua Weissman: An Unapologetic Cookbook,[10][11] that became a #1 New York Times bestseller and maintained it's position on the list for 9 consecutive weeks. He broke several global publishing records with this cookbook including being the largest culinary release for DK (Publisher). With his cookbook being one of the highest selling cookbooks of 2021 and 2022.[12][13] His cookbook includes over 100 recipes based making meals from scratch,[14]
At the same year, he was featured in Variety's 2021 Young Hollywood Impact Report.[15]
Weissman`s third book Texture Over Taste, released in 2023, which also became a multi New York Times bestseller.[16][17][18][19]
In 2023, Joshua Weissman collaborated with Williams-Sonoma on the NKH Silicone FSC Wood Spatula to support No Kid Hungry, a campaign by Share Our Strength aimed at ending childhood hunger in America. The campaign provides nutritious food to children and helps families learn to cook healthy, affordable meals. His spatula was the only one to sell out.[20][unreliable source?][21]
Weissman appeared in various media outside his own channels, including teaching Drew Barrymore how to make Austin Breakfast Tacos on her show,[22] or at Food Diaries by Harper's BAZAAR via YouTube ,[23] and having his home featured on the Arichtectural Digest series, Open Door.[24] Weissman promotes mindful and healthy eating, combining personal well-being with interest in.[25]
Personal life
Joshua's mother, Lynn Weissman, who inspired Joshua to start cooking, grew up in Houston, Texas. In the late 1970s, she won a Betty Crocker award for home cooking.
Joshua is married to Kate Weissman, who graduated from South Texas College of Law Houston with a Juris Doctor degree. Before her legal career, she was an eighth-grade history teacher.[26]
Books
Joshua Weissman. The Slim Palate Paleo Cookbook. 2014. Victory Belt Publishing. 224 pages. 978-1628600117
Joshua Weissman: An Unapologetic Cookbook. September 14, 2021. DK Publishing. 264 pages. 978-1615649983
Joshua Weissman: Texture Over Taste. October 17, 2023. DK Publishing. 264 pages. 978-0744063509[27]
^Jem Aswad; Shalini Dore; Selome Hailu; Paula Hendrickson; Zoe Hewitt; Carole Horst; Steven J. Horowitz; Ethan Shanfeld; Malina Saval; Chris Willman (2021-08-11). "Variety's 2021 Power of Young Hollywood Impact List". Variety. Retrieved 2024-12-24.