Dan souza gay

In his time as a test cook, Dan created hundreds of recipes for Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen cookbooks.

Nina joined America’s Test Kitchen in August 2024 as the Senior Vice President of TV, Video, and Podcast, where she oversees content strategy, creation, and execution across the company’s media platforms.

With over 21+ years of experience in entertainment, Nina has worked across primetime TV, cable, streaming services, social media, and branded content.

The answer turned out to be…travel. In the future, we’ll hold bi-monthly live Q&As with the ATK team.” Dan is also the host of the YouTube show What’s Eating Dan? where he does deep dives in to singular subjects.

“This is a deeply rewarding job and I use the skills I developed at CIA on a daily basis,” Dan says.

“For current students, my advice would be to think big and make your own path. “CIA became my graduate school. With a BA in business from the University of Richmond in hand, the question “What next?” loomed large. It’s a pleasure to see people leave a presentation glowing because they realize they’ve carried these stories and meanings with them, and they have something to pass on.

They walk out, commit acts of microaggression, or simply ask about the wallpaper or floor while ignoring the human story.

Now that you're an influencer in the food world, do you plan to use that platform to talk about queer issues and support the queer community?

I have been out of the closet since I was 16, and I came out in my school newspaper while I was president of the student government association.

One of his ESL students was a chef at a local restaurant and event space in a town of 1,500 residents. You can do that with smells, facts, tastes, and it works just the same. I want everybody to be a storyteller.

What is the hardest part of your job?

A lot of what I do is teaching people about culinary history, and from the angle of social, food, and culinary justice.

Even though we struggle with anti-gay sentiment in the modern food world and kitchen, knowing that there are so many women, men, and trans individuals in the food world makes me feel indescribably and deeply connected.

When I was writing The Cooking Gene, it became very important to me to do what they couldn’t do, which was to say, hey, gay chefs come from gay kids who once dreamed of wowing people with their food and flair.

Dan started working in the kitchen on weekends. I’ve always loved writing and science and the kitchen was a perfect melding of those passions.”

America’s Test Kitchen

In 2008, Dan joined America’s Test Kitchen (ATK). “I went to Hungary for a year to teach English as a second language, although I wasn’t very good at it and didn’t speak Hungarian,” Dan explained.

I’ve been a queer activist of sorts for the past 24 years. If you love what you do, follow that path and be open to possibilities.”

Chef Dan Souza majored in Culinary Arts while attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. He is the editor in chief at Cook’s Illustrated magazine and a cast member of America’s Test Kitchen.

We Talked To 11 Out And Proud LGBT Leaders Of The Food Industry

Job: culinary historian and author of The Cooking Gene:
A Journey Through African-American Culinary History in the Old South and the food blog Afroculinaria

Location: Washington, DC

What is your favorite part of your job?

When you can help recapture a moment from someone’s past or the collective past by teaching the history of food, that is amazing.

Whether it was issues of racism in gay clubs, gay youth issues, issues specifically pertaining to black, queer people, I’ve kept an active profile. She is known for her versatility, having led the production of more than 40+ unscripted series, including Deal or No Deal, Hollywood Medium, Ghost Hunters, and Dr. Phil.

In his new role, Dan will oversee both print and digital formats for the brand.

“This is a deeply rewarding job and I use the skills I developed at CIA on a daily basis.”

Food and Social Media

“One of the biggest opportunities, and what will be my focus, is bringing Cook’s Illustrated to alternative platforms to give our audience a unique experience packed with information,” says Dan.

“With social media like Facebook and Instagram, we have direct contact with our viewers and receive instant feedback. There are so many avenues of opportunity in today’s food culture. I’m standing over a hot fire for nine hours on my feet trying to give them truth mixed with rich sensory elements, and they don’t want to connect with the ancestors.

When people aren’t hearing you, and they don’t want to better their minds and spirits by bending to empathize with the enslaved people of the past, it's more painful than you think. All of a sudden, it’s as if you've filled the room with people’s long-lost friends and family, lovers, and adversities they overcame. Over time, Dan’s role in the company expanded.