NILOU MOTAMED
Nilou Motamed has been shaping the conversation in food and travel for more than 20 years and has been named one of AdWeek’s 30 Most Influential People in Food.
Nilou was a judge on Top Chef Season 16 and served as Editor-in-Chief of Food & Wine, one of the country’s leading culinary brands. She is also the former Editor-in-Chief of Epicurious.com. During her tenure, the epicurious saw record-setting traffic and unprecedented growth. As the longtime Features Director & Senior Correspondent for Travel + Leisure, Nilou oversaw the magazine’s coverage of restaurants, hotels, shopping, and culture. Under her watch, T+L was nominated for eight James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards.
In addition to her featured role on Top Chef, Nilou is a frequent guest on national television, including NBC’s Today and CBS This Morning. She hosted the Travel Channel’s series Travel Spies and the restaurant review show Reservations Required.
In 2017 Nilou leveraged her global network and expertise in food and travel to co-found Story Collective, a consultancy specializing in brand voice, strategy, and storytelling for the world’s top luxury hotels, restaurants, and destinations.
Nilou is a regularly featured speaker at international travel and food conferences, and a longstanding panelist for the James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards. She can be found on Instagram at @niloumotamed.
Nilou was a judge on Top Chef Season 16 and served as Editor-in-Chief of Food & Wine, one of the country’s leading culinary brands. She is also the former Editor-in-Chief of Epicurious.com. During her tenure, the epicurious saw record-setting traffic and unprecedented growth. As the longtime Features Director & Senior Correspondent for Travel + Leisure, Nilou oversaw the magazine’s coverage of restaurants, hotels, shopping, and culture. Under her watch, T+L was nominated for eight James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards.
In addition to her featured role on Top Chef, Nilou is a frequent guest on national television, including NBC’s Today and CBS This Morning. She hosted the Travel Channel’s series Travel Spies and the restaurant review show Reservations Required.
In 2017 Nilou leveraged her global network and expertise in food and travel to co-found Story Collective, a consultancy specializing in brand voice, strategy, and storytelling for the world’s top luxury hotels, restaurants, and destinations.
Nilou is a regularly featured speaker at international travel and food conferences, and a longstanding panelist for the James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards. She can be found on Instagram at @niloumotamed.