Benjamin Kemper
Senior Recipes Editor
Benjamin Kemper is a native New Englander based in Madrid, Spain, where he test-runs recipes and writes about the places that make him hungriest. He is a longtime contributor at SAVEUR and became Senior Recipes Editor in 2022. Benjamin has lived in Boston, London, and New York and travels often to the Caucasus region.
Highlights
- Over a decade of experience working in food-related fields.
- Fluent Spanish speaker and insatiable hispanophile.
- Articles in more than two dozen publications and authorship of several popular print travel guides.
Experience
Prior to joining SAVEUR, Benjamin was a freelance writer and editor and, before that, worked in marketing and in restaurants. His cooking career began as a preteen selling homemade pies to family friends; after studying Spanish literature at Boston University, he worked his way up in the hospitality industry, working as a captain and sommelier at restaurants including Gotham Bar and Grill in New York and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in London. After a brief stint working at a F&B-focused PR agency in New York, he moved to Spain in 2014 and began writing food and travel stories for American and British publications including The Wall Street Journal, AFAR, and Condé Nast Traveler. He also coauthored Michelin’s Green Guide to Spain, Lonely Planet’s Wine Trails Europe, and four editions of Fodor’s Essential Spain. On his nights off, he works at a local natural wine bar.Education
Benjamin holds a BA in Hispanic Language and Literatures from Boston University and went to somm school at the American Sommelier Association.DESERT ISLAND INGREDIENT
“Fat Cantabrian anchovies—in all of their wonderfully odorous iterations.”Notable Work
- The Walnut Whisperers of Georgia SAVEUR
- This Meaty Stew Is a Uniquely Satisfying Winter-Weekend Project The Wall Street Journal
- A Field Guide to Khachapuri, the Indomitable Cheese Bread of Georgia SAVEUR
- Rescue the Dried-Out Cheese in Your Fridge With This Classic Spanish Preservation Trick SAVEUR
- Potica: How They Make it on Slovenia’s Bled Island SAVEUR
- Palestinian Pantry Staples We Can’t Live Without SAVEUR
- The Quest for an Ancient Culture’s Cannabis-Filled Cooking Gastro Obscura