Detroit Free Press food critic wins James Beard Award

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A Detroit Free Press restaurant critic was recently honored with a James Beard Award.

Lyndsay Green was named an emerging voice for her work.

She started her career as a beauty editor but transitioned into food in early 2020. 

"They have allowed me to sort of lean into my own voice and my own style and my own interests and my own curiosities," she said. "I’m a writer, I’m a storyteller. Give me a beat and I think I can cover it."

Green is an Afro-Latina from New York. She moved to Detroit six years ago and has cultivated a love of the area's culinary arts scene since then.

"I just fell in love with this city itself. It was not about career. It was not about my goals. It really just was I fell in love with this place," she said. 

She spends her days covering a variety of aspects of the industry.

"I’m presenting awards to these chefs at the beginning of the year or throughout the year with our Top 10 takeover series, or I’m interviewing them for stories about how they maneuvered Covid, or right now I’m working on a story about tipping, so I’m talking to restaurant owners about that," Green said.

Green said she has always had a passion for culture and places and spaces that celebrate uniqueness. She and her husband even started a home garden which she believes brings her closer to her writing.

"To be respectful of their story but also honest in my perception of their story and their food," she said. "Detroit restaurants can compete with New York, they can compete with Chicago, they can compete with some of the best restaurants in the country," she said 

Green was also a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist.

"I’m only the fourth food writer that has ever been a finalist in the category and there’s only been one food writer that has won and that’s one of the best writers in the country," she said. "I’m really just proud to be the person that’s sort of brings this honor to the city."