JeanMarie Brownson

BIOGRAPHY

JeanMarie Brownson was born in Chicago to a family that enjoys cooking. She has a B.S. in Foods and Nutrition and was selected to be the American Culinary Federation’s first female chef’s apprentice in Chicago.

After chef’s school, JeanMarie worked in the Editorial Test Kitchens for Cuisine Magazine. When the Chicago Tribune called in 1980, she accepted the position of Test Kitchen Director. It was a glorious time to be a part of one of the top food sections in the country. During her 16-year tenure at the Chicago Tribune, JeanMarie cooked alongside Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Anne Willan, Paul Prudhomme and virtually every top chef and cookbook author in the country. She received three writing awards from the Association of Food Journalists.

JeanMarie met Rick and Deann Bayless while on assignment for the Tribune. In 1993, Rick asked JeanMarie to work with him on his second cookbook. Together, they co-authored three cookbooks including Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen, winner of the IACP Cookbook of the Year Award and Mexico—One Plate at a Time, winner of the James Beard Foundation’s International Cookbook Award.

In 1996, JeanMarie left the Chicago Tribune to start Frontera Foods with partners Rick Bayless, Manny Valdes and Greg Keller. Frontera Foods quickly became this country’s leading gourmet Mexican food company. The group sold the company in 2016 to Conagra Brands where JeanMarie helped bring Frontera frozen entrees to life. She left Conagra Brands in 2018 to start JMB Food Consulting.

JeanMarie is the Culinary Director and writer for 12 seasons of the Public Television Show “Mexico–One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless.”

JeanMarie’s food column (the original blog!), titled Dinner at Home, chronicling a life spent cooking for work, fun and family, has appeared bimonthly in the Good Eating section of the Chicago Tribune since 2008. Her column also can be found online in Tribune newspapers nationwide.

Dinner at Home, the cookbook, is a 2016 winner of the International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Award.

She is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the James Beard Foundation. She lives and cooks in the Chicago area with her family.