Background
Kimball, Christopher Pennington was born on June 5, 1951 in New York City. Son of Edward Norris Kimball and Mary Alice White.
Kimball, Christopher Pennington was born on June 5, 1951 in New York City. Son of Edward Norris Kimball and Mary Alice White.
He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and then Columbia University (1973) with a degree in Primitive Artist
Soon after, he worked for The Center for Direct Marketing in Westport, Connecticut and also started taking cooking courses. After securing $100,000 in angel investments from friends and family, he started Cook’s Magazine from a tiny office in Weston, Connecticut in 1980 when he was 29 years old. He sold the magazine to the Bonnier Group in 1989 and moved on to other publishing ventures.
In 1993, he launched Cook"s Illustrated magazine.
He is the author of The Cook"s Bible, The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook, Dear Charlie, The Dessert Bible and Fannie"s Last Supper, and is a columnist for the New York Daily News and the Boston-based Tab Communications. Kimball also hosts the syndicated Public Broadcasting Service cooking shows America"s Test Kitchen and Cook"s Country from America"s Test Kitchen.
Other television appearances include This Old House and the morning shows Weekend Today and The Early Show. He is a regular contributor on National Public Radio.
On January 8, 2011, Kimball began hosting WGBH-FM"s America"s Test Kitchen Radio in Boston.
On November 16, 2015, a news release from Boston Commons Press, parent company of Cooks Country/Cooks Illustrated/America"s Test Kitchen, announced the departure of Christopher Kimball over a contract dispute. The 2016 television programs had already been filmed and Kimball will appear as host, but his direct participation in the company was ending immediately. He remains a minority stockholder in the closely held company.
There had been signs of a dispute between the corporate leadership and Kimball ever since September 2015 when David Nussbaum was appointed from outside the company as Chief Executive Officer, above Kimball.
Married Judith Friedman, May 21, 1978 (divorced September 1984). Married Adrienne Margaret Tracy, June 20, 1987.
