Soleil Ho

Born into a Vietnamese-American family in rural Illinois, Ho was raised in New York City with their mother Francie, who worked in the fashion industry, and their sister.{{cite web|first1=Leo|last1=Kirts|access-date=2024-08-04|title=Meet the Nonbinary Food Writer Reimagining Restaurant Criticism|url=https://www.them.us/story/soleil-ho-revolutionized-restaurant-criticism-profile|date=19 July 2024|website=Them}} They graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 2005.{{Cite news|last=Barry|first=Dan|date=2005-06-25|title=For This Class, 'Remember When' Mingles With 'Never Forget'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/25/nyregion/for-this-class-remember-when-mingles-with-never-forget.html|access-date=2020-05-04|issn=0362-4331}} Ho graduated from Grinnell College in 2009.

As a chef, Ho has worked at restaurants in New Orleans, Minneapolis, Portland, Oregon, and Puerto Vallarta, where their mother owned a restaurant.{{cite news | last =Judkis | first =Maura | title =Soleil Ho is a young, queer woman of color who wants to redefine food criticism | newspaper = Washington Post| date =March 8, 2019 | url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/lifestyle/food/soleil-ho-is-a-young-queer-woman-of-color-who-wants-to-redefine-food-criticism/2019/03/07/d76eb89e-3eca-11e9-a0d3-1210e58a94cf_story.html | access-date =April 12, 2019 }}

Ho and journalist Zahir Janmohamed launched a podcast titled Racist Sandwich about under-reported issues in the food industry in 2016; one of their listeners, artist and writer Blue Delliquanti, collaborated with them on the 2017 graphic novel MEAL about "eating bugs, queer desire, and opening a restaurant".

In 2019, they replaced Michael Bauer, who retired after 32 years as the restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle.{{cite news | last =Carman | first =Tim | title =San Francisco Chronicle hires writer and 'Racist Sandwich' podcast host Soleil Ho as its new restaurant critic| newspaper =Washington Post| date =December 5, 2018 | url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/food/wp/2018/12/05/san-francisco-chronicle-hires-writer-and-racist-sandwich-podcast-host-soleil-ho-as-its-new-restaurant-critic/ | access-date =May 12, 2019 }} Ho has joked that Bauer, their predecessor at the newspaper, held the job since they were "not even a fetus". In their first year, they produced a new methodology for the Chronicle's listicles, prioritizing diversity, affordability and localness, detailing ADA compliance and plant-based options, using public transportation, and eliminating starred reviews.

Ho is careful about the connotations of the words they select. A specific example is that they do not use the term "kaffir lime" because kaffir is a racial slur in South Africa. More generally, they do not think that "ethnic" food is a legitimate concept. Ho says "The imprecision of the word—and the assumption that it doesn’t apply equally to people and cuisines associated with Europe or white America—gives me such a headache."{{cite news | last =Oatman | first =Maddie | title =Stop Calling It "Ethnic Food"—and More Tips on How to Talk About Eating| newspaper =Mother Jones | date =March 23, 2019 | url =https://www.motherjones.com/food/2019/03/soleil-ho-ethnic-kaffir-lime-authentic-food-words/ | access-date =May 12, 2019 }} They consider terms like "sustainable," "responsibly grown" and "farm-to-table" to be marketing buzzwords that are too often abused.{{cite web | url =https://sfist.com/2019/02/28/new-chronicle-critic-soleil-ho-drops-a-doozy-of-a-review-of-chez-panisse-calls-it-stale/ | title =New Chronicle Critic Soleil Ho Drops a Doozy of a Review of Chez Panisse, Calls It 'Stale' | last =Barmann | first =Jay | date =February 28, 2019 | website =SFist | access-date =May 12, 2019 | archive-date =April 12, 2019 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190412233500/https://sfist.com/2019/02/28/new-chronicle-critic-soleil-ho-drops-a-doozy-of-a-review-of-chez-panisse-calls-it-stale/ | url-status =dead }} Ho is especially critical of gentrification in their writing, expressing concern that food writing can function as "the language of real estate marketing".

Ho mentions poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib, food critic Ruth Reichl and newspaper critic-at-large Wesley Morris as among their influences. Ho says that they want to write about restaurants that "tell a story" which may focus on "race, gender, class or the culture of the Bay Area".

Ho and journalist Zahir Janmohamed launched a podcast titled Racist Sandwich about under-reported issues in the food industry in 2016; one of their listeners, Blue Delliquanti, co-authored a graphic novel titled MEAL with them the next year. The book is described as a "graphic novel on culinary mentorship, queer romance, and eating insects".

Concerned about their legacy in a high-profile position, Ho commented, "What if I screw up and no one ever hires a queer woman of color for a role like this again?"{{cite web | url =https://www.grubstreet.com/amp/2019/02/soleil-ho-restaurant-critic-san-francisco-chronicle-interview.html | title =Meet Soleil Ho, America's Newest Restaurant Critic| last =Rainey | first =Clint | date =February 4, 2019 | website =Grubstreet | access-date =May 12, 2019 }}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://soleilho.com/ Soleil Ho: writer on the fish sauce beat]
• [https://www.sfchronicle.com/about/newsroomnews/article/s-f-chronicle-restaurant-critic-soleil-ho-wins-17235862.php S.F. Chronicle restaurant critic Soleil Ho wins James Beard Award for criticism]

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Category:American restaurant critics

Category:American writers of Vietnamese descent

Category:American LGBTQ people of Asian descent

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Category:American food and drink podcasters