Alison Roman has revealed she has parted ways with The New York Times, seven months after her popular column was put on hold at the publication amid a row with Chrissy Teigen.
The 34-year-old chef, who is one the country’s most famous food writers, made the announcement in an Instagram post on Wednesday, after it was revealed she had penned the most popular recipe on The Times’ website for 2020.
‘I am beyond grateful to see this shallot pasta as the number 1 recipe on NYT Cooking this year,’ Roman wrote in a lengthy caption.
‘It came out in January, before the pandemic, before *gestures wildly* all of this… There is no greater compliment to someone who does what I do than to have a recipe shared this widely and this year, it means more than it ever has in my whole life.’
‘It feels like a good time to formally mention I won’t be returning to NYT Cooking. I’m proud of the work we made together but excited for this new chapter which includes more recipes, videos and writing over on A Newsletter and beyond.’
A spokesperson from The New York Times told Page Six on Wednesday that Roman had left the publication of her own volition.
‘Alison decided to move on from The Times and we’re very thankful for her work with us,’ they stated.
Alison Roman has revealed she has parted ways with The New York Times, seven months after her popular column was put on hold at the publication amid a row with Chrissy Teigen
The Times put Roman’s column on hold indefinitely back in May after she claimed that model Chrissy Teigen had sold out in the creation of her culinary empire.
In an interview with The New Consumer, Roman stated: ‘What Chrissy Teigen has done is so crazy to me.
‘She had a successful cookbook. And then it was, like: Boom, line at Target. Boom, now she has an Instagram page that has over a million followers where it’s just, like, people running a content farm for her.
‘That horrifies me and it’s not something that I ever want to do. I don’t aspire to that. But like, who’s laughing now? Because she’s making a ton of f****** money.’
Roman’s column was put on hold after she claimed that model Chrissy Teigen had sold out in the creation of her culinary empire
Roman also attacked Marie Kondo for her products – leading to a swift online backlash, as critics noted that Roman had singled out two minority women.
Initially Roman was defiant, tweeting on May 8: ‘When women bully other women for being honest about money and how much they do or do not make, well, that’s amore.’
She later that day recanted, saying: ‘I am not coming for anyone who’s successful, especially not women. ‘I was trying to clarify that my business model does not include a product line, which work very well for some, but I don’t see working for me.’
Teigen then replied, tweeting: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been so bummed out by the words of a fellow food-lover. I just had no idea I was perceived that way, by her especially. And Marie, too. Marie is awesome.’
She said that her brand, Cravings, was not a ‘machine’ or ‘farmed content’.
Roman accused Teigen of cheapening her brand with an expanding empire. Teigen’s cookbook has topped the bestseller lists and blossomed into a homeware collection, which has also sold out.
She concluded: ‘I didn’t ‘sell out’ by making my dreams come true. To have a cookware line, to get to be part of that process from start to finish, to see something go from sketch in to my hands, I love that.’
Roman apologized, tweeting that she had been ‘flippant, careless’ and saying that she was ‘genuinely sorry’.
But by May 10 the online furore had become too much, and Teigen said that she had been receiving abuse about her children. She said she was taking time away from Twitter, to let the row settle down.
Roman then issued a further apology, in a long letter on social media. Teigen accepted.
Roman issued a further apology on May 11, which Teigen accepted. The row continued to rumble, however, and a week later the New York Times put Roman’s column on hold
Yet the saga was not over.
On May 19 it was confirmed that Roman’s New York Times column had been put on hold.
Teigen criticized the decision, saying she was ‘not happy’ with it.
‘I forgave her… and I’d like her back. It just sucks in every way,’ she said.
Fans of Roman blasted The New York Times, saying the suspension was a ‘sociopathic’ example of cancel culture
Roman emerged from the fray several days later with an Instagram post announcing that she was beginning a newsletter, describing it as something she had intended to do for the past three years.
Roman continues to publish the newsletter for tens of thousands of subscribers. She is also still a popular presence on Instagram, where she boasts more than 500,000 followers.
Roman now publishes her own newsletter, which boasts tens of thousands of subscribers