Kim Sev­er­son has been the Atlanta bureau chief for The New York Times since Novem­ber 2010. Before her recent appoint­ment, she was a din­ing writer for The New York Times for six years. She also spent six years writ­ing about cook­ing and the cul­ture of food for the San Fran­cis­co Chron­i­cle. She is the author of the mem­oir Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life, and has won four James Beard awards for food writ­ing. She lives in Decatur, Geor­gia with her part­ner and her young daughter.