Skift Take
Gold's death is a massive loss for the Los Angeles food community and the community at large. Known for crafting superb prose and spotlighting under-the-radar restaurants, Gold's criticism forever changed the landscape of the LA restaurant scene.
— Kristen Hawley
Jonathan Gold, the Los Angeles Times’ chief restaurant critic, is dead at 57. The cause was pancreatic cancer, according to the paper.
Gold is credited with changing the Los Angeles dining scene through approachable reviews and standout writing. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 2007 while writing for LA Weekly, the first writer to receive the award for restaurant criticism. He was the Times’ chief critic since 2012, though has worked for both LA Weekly and the Los Angeles Times twice, “with long breaks between tours of duty,” according to the New York Times.
He famously eschewed anonymity, unlike many of his high-profile peers. Gold starred in a 2015 documentary titled City of Gold that featured him traveling and eating around the city. A Los Angeles native, Gold featured restaurants both in and out of the limelight, introducing readers to small, family run, or under-the-radar restaurants and menu items. His work also took him out of Los Angeles to high-profile restaurants around the world, including Noma’s Tulum, Mexico pop-up last year, and the restaurant’s recent reopening in Copenhagen.
Gold’s cancer diagnosis came just weeks ago, according to the LA Times. He is survived by his wife, Laurie Ochoa, and two children, Isabel and Leon.
Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer Prize-winning LA Times restaurant critic, has died at the age of 57. We will miss him greatly. https://t.co/7Zf8jMv7Qm pic.twitter.com/D9FnLNw14Z
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) July 22, 2018
