Wendell Brock

Wendell Brock: Chronicling Atlanta’s Culinary and Cultural Evolution

Wendell Brock is a James Beard Award-winning journalist whose four-decade career has cemented his reputation as a authoritative voice on Atlanta’s food, arts, and cultural landscapes. From his early days as a copy editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to his current role as a leading critic and storyteller, Brock has documented the city’s transformation into a multicultural dining destination while maintaining a keen eye for community-driven narratives.

Career Trajectory: From Newsroom to Dining Room

• 1982–2009 | AJC Foundation: Began as copy editor, evolved into arts editor and culture reporter, uniquely covering both food and dance simultaneously
• 2009–2025 | Freelance Era: Authored seminal restaurant critiques while championing immigrant-owned businesses and pop-up culinary movements
• 2024–Present | Atlanta Magazine: Transitioned to long-form cultural analysis, profiling chefs and tracing foodways across the American South

Defining Works

• "Wendell Brock says goodbye to the AJC" (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2025)

This career-capping reflection blends personal memoir with social history, tracing Atlanta’s evolution from meat-and-three diners to a Michelin-starred city. Brock reveals how his rural Georgia roots informed his critical lens, while dissecting the ethical tensions between journalistic objectivity and community advocacy during pandemic-era restaurant coverage. The piece serves as both valediction and manifesto, arguing for food writing that celebrates cultural preservation alongside innovation.

• "Austin’s at Serenbe summons spirits past" (Atlanta Magazine, 2024)

Brock’s profile of this farm-to-table establishment 35 miles southwest of Atlanta exemplifies his ability to weave culinary criticism with cultural anthropology. The 2,800-word piece documents chef Austin Dickson’s heirloom ingredient sourcing while drawing parallels between New Southern cuisine and the land stewardship practices of Creek Nation tribes. Food historians praise its groundbreaking use of archival recipes alongside modern plating techniques.

• "With Long Snake, Joshua Fryer embraces a long-simmering passion for cooking" (Atlanta Magazine, 2024)

This character study follows a former punk rock musician’s journey into avant-garde Appalachian cuisine. Brock employs musical metaphors to analyze flavor compositions while exploring how Fryer’s LGBTQ+ identity influences his reimagining of mountain food traditions. The article sparked national dialogue about queer representation in Southern culinary spaces.

Beat Analysis & Pitching Recommendations

1. Highlight Undocumented Foodways

Brock prioritizes stories that preserve endangered culinary traditions, particularly those of Atlanta’s immigrant communities. His 2020 AJC series on Clarkston’s refugee-run restaurants demonstrated how food becomes cultural preservation. Successful pitches identify specific dishes with historical significance, like his documentation of Burmese lahpet thoke fermentation techniques.

2. Connect Cuisine to Social Movements

The 2024 Atlanta Magazine feature "It’s more important than ever to support Black-owned restaurants" exemplifies his focus on food as social justice. Effective proposals link restaurant trends to broader themes like housing policy or gentrification, avoiding superficial "best-of" lists.

3. Spotlight Chef Origin Stories

Brock’s profiles (e.g., James Beard winner Dolester Miles) emphasize personal transformation over standard career chronologies. Pitches should reveal how a chef’s background informs their culinary philosophy, as seen in his exploration of Joshua Fryer’s Appalachian roots intersecting with queer identity.

4. Avoid Corporate Culinary Trends

His work consciously excludes national chains and viral food fads. The 2025 AJC farewell piece criticizes "Instagram-driven dining" in favor of establishments preserving regional authenticity. Pitches about chef-driven concepts should emphasize local sourcing and community impact.

5. Explore Southern Diaspora Connections

Brock’s 2019 "Want Food, Will Travel" series mapped Atlanta’s culinary influences across the Global South. Successful angles might examine how West African okra cultivation techniques appear in modern Georgian gardens or the Syrian roots of peach cobbler.

Awards & Industry Recognition

"A critic who tastes with both heart and palate" – James Beard Foundation citation

James Beard Award for Profile Writing (2019): Brock earned this prestigious honor for his AJC portrait of chef Todd Richards, which intertwined barbecue history with the chef’s experiences as a Black culinary entrepreneur. The judging committee noted its "unprecedented synthesis of personal narrative and gastronomic sociology."

Georgia Press Association Food Writing Award (2020–2024): His pandemic-era columns analyzing restaurant survival strategies won five consecutive awards, particularly praised for balancing data-driven analysis with human-interest storytelling.