Nicole A. Taylor


Nicole A. Taylor is a writer, podcast host, chef and cookbook author.
Raised in Athens, Georgia, Taylor lived in Atlanta for 12 years. She moved to Brooklyn in 2008, which ultimately led to her cookbook The Up South Cookbook: Chasing Dixie in a Brooklyn Kitchen. Developed over three years, the book contains more than 100 recipes which Nneka Okona described in Brooklyn Magazine as "approachable for even novice cooks and all...restorative because they’re accompanied not only by instruction but also a story, a context for why the dish means something to on a deeper level...making Up South as much a cookbook as a narrative. Stories to move you. Stories you can feel in the same way good food, true comfort food, feeds and nourishes your soul and spirit." Writing in The New Republic, Stacia L. Brown similarly described the cookbook as "combined personal history, migration story, and recipe collection." NBC News called it a "must-have" cookbook for southern soul cooking and Essence, USA Today, Paste Magazine and Yahoo Food all named it to lists of best cookbooks in 2015. Yahoo praised Taylor's "knack for using new ingredients and her own personal experiences to create wholly original interpretations."
Taylor also hosted a podcast titled Hot Grease from 2009 to 2013 where she brought on guests to talk about the culture of food.
In 2017, Brooklyn Magazine named Taylor to its list of 100 influential people in Brooklyn culture, citing her work on The Up South Cookbook as well as her earlier podcast on food culture called Hot Grease, which aired on the Heritage Radio Network from 2009 to 2013.
Taylor serves as director of special projects for chef Claus Meyer’s Brownsville Community Culinary Center.