Morgan Murphy (food critic)

Morgan Murphy
Southern author and food critic, Morgan Murphy
Born	Mountain Brook, Alabama
Website	www.morganmurphy.co
Culinary career
Cooking style	American Southern
Award(s) won Gold Award for Travel, Society of American Travel Writers, American Library Association Humor Book of the Year 2010,

Morgan Murphy is an American Southern food critic, humorist, author, journalist, restorer of classic cars, Internet entrepreneur, and Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Reserve.

Journalism career

Murphy began his career at Vanity Fair, meeting Graydon Carter in an elevator at Condé Nast – according to the memoir How to Lose Friends & Alienate People by Toby Young.^[1] As a reporter for Forbes under Jim Michaels, Murphy was the first journalist to estimate the net worth of Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, at the time believed to be $42 million.^[2] In 2000, Murphy joined Southern Living and served as the magazine's food critic, travel editor, and national spokesman.^[3]

He has appeared on the Travel Channel's American Grilled,^[4] the Today Show,^[5] Fox & Friends, Fox News,^[6] CNN, Sirius XM, Food Talk, Car Talk,^[7] NPR,^[8] the Speed Channel,^[9] and QVC.^[10]

Military career

Murphy joined the United States Naval Reserve in 1999, and has since served on four continents.^[11] In 2010, Murphy was called to Afghanistan, where he served in Operation Enduring Freedom as the Director of Media Outreach for the International Security Assistance Force^[12] and briefed General David R. Petraeus,^[13] 40 general officers, and two ambassadors on a daily basis. As of December 2010, he held the rank of Lieutenant Commander and had also served in Morocco and South Korea.^[11] He has been awarded the NATO Freedom Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal Navy Achievement Medal,^[11] National Defense Service Medal,^[11] Global War on Terrorism Medal,^[11] Overseas Service Ribbon,^[11] and Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.^[11] In November 2012, he was assigned to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.^[14]

Lt. Cmdr. Morgan Murphy briefs General David Petraeus in Afghanistan

Books published as author

• Murphy's first book, I Love You – Now Hush (ISBN 978-0895873781), co-authored with author Melinda Rainey Thompson and released in 2010,^[15] was named the gold humor book of the year by the American Library Association.^[16]
• Murphy's cookbook Off the Eaten Path: Favorite Southern Dives and 150 Recipes that Made Them Famous^[17] (ISBN 978-0848734459) is a collection of his favorite restaurants^[18] and their most famous recipes^[19] from the American South.^[20]
• A sequel Off the Eaten Path: Second Helpings: Tasty eats and delicious stories from the South's less-traveled trails (ISBN 978-0848739553) followed in 2013,^[21]
• In 2014 he published Bourbon & Bacon: The Ultimate Guide to the South's Favorite Food Groups (ISBN 978-0848743161), featuring recipes using bourbon, bacon, or a combination of the two.^[22] The book includes a history of bourbon and tasting notes for 75 of his favorite whiskies.^[23]
• In 2015, he published Off the Eaten Path: On the Road Again: More Unforgettable Foods and Characters from the South's Back Roads and Byways (ISBN 978-0848744441), a third entry in his "Off the Eaten Path" series.^[10]

Classic cars and the Motorpool.com website venture

Murphy is a classic car enthusiast with a special focus on vintage Cadillacs. In 2005, Murphy discovered "The Duchess"^[24] – a 1941 Cadillac limousine created for the abdicated king Edward VIII and his consort Wallis Simpson – in a barn in Fort Worth, Texas.^[11][25] The car was a one-of-a-kind creation by General Motors' chief designer Harley Earl, under the direction of the company's chairman and chief executive officer, Alfred P. Sloan. When Murphy purchased the car, it was in disrepair and its provenance was unproven.^[26] Murphy conducted a three-year restoration effort,^[27] and in November 2013, he offered the car for sale through an RM Auctions and Sotheby's "Art of the Automobile" sale.^[28][29][30] The auction houses called it "one of the most famous and iconic cars of both American and English society", and suggested the car should sell for between $500,000 and $800,000.^[28][29][30]

In 2007, Murphy left Southern Living and founded Motorpool.com, which was claimed to be the world's first social network for classic car enthusiasts.^[11][31] The launch was backed by more than $1 million in venture capital.^[32] In late 2010, Murphy had recently toured the country in a vintage Cadillac to promote the site's launch (and had nine Cadillacs in his possession).^[11] However, as of March 2015, the Motorpool.com domain name was no longer operating as a distinct website and was simply a redirect to Murphy's personal site.^[33]

Personal life and education

Murphy was born in Mountain Brook, Alabama (a suburb of Birmingham) and grew up in Birmingham, where he currently resides.^[11]

He received a Bachelor's degree in 1994 from Birmingham-Southern College (which honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2013).^[11][34] He then received an MBA from the University of Oxford,^[35] where he was a member of Exeter College^[11] and was elected by the university as its "MBA of the Year".^[36]

References

External links

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• Official website of Morgan Murphy
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• Morgan Murphy on Amazon