Red Pepper, Austin Chronicle

Virginia Wood is a fifth generation Texan who relocated to Austin for college in the early 70′s and realized she had found her true home.

As a UT graduate, she taught school for a couple of years before realizing she actually preferred the world of cooking and restaurants that had been her part-time occupation during college.

She was the first pastry chef at Austin landmark Fonda San Miguel and also operated her own wholesale dessert and catering company, Las Dulces, for several years.

Food writing is her third career.

Ms. Wood self-syndicated a newspaper column about Texas food and food products called At Home on the Range in the late 80′s. She has been with the Austin Chronicle since 1993 and has been the food editor at Austin’s alternative newsweekly since 1997.

Ms. Wood wrote the text for the IACP-award-winning cookbook Fonda San Miguel – Thirty Years of Food & Art, published in 2005.

[Per Virginia's request, we are not publishing a photo of her. She told us that because she is a food critic, she needs her anonymity to dine surreptitiously at various Austin eateries. ]