Mark Bitterman is an American food writer and entrepreneur. With his wife Jennifer Turner Bitterman he is co-owner of The Meadow, a boutique that specializes in finishing salts, single-origin dark chocolate bars

Chocolate

Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

, bitters

Bitters

A bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...

, and gourmet accoutrements. The Meadow was founded in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 in 2006 and expanded to the West Village in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in 2010.

Life

Bitterman was born on December 22, 1966 in New York City and spent much of his childhood in Southern California. He attended Reed College

Reed College

Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...

 and Sarah Lawrence College

Sarah Lawrence College

Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...

 and has worked in marketing, engineering, and food writing. He now has homes in both Portland and New York.

Bitterman cites as his discovery of finishing salts a steak with fleur de sel

Fleur de sel

Fleur de sel is a hand-harvested sea salt collected by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans...

 that he had while motorcycling through France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 at the age of twenty. Ever since he has been collecting salts, visiting salt flats, and talking to salt makers throughout his travels around the world.

Accomplishments

In October 2010, Bitterman released his book, Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes

Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes

Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes is a reference book and cookbook written by food writer Mark Bitterman. In May 2011 Salted won the James Beard Foundation Award for Reference and Scholarship Cookbook...

. Salted consists of three parts: 1) a brief history of salt and artisan saltmaking techniques, 2) a taxonomy and reference guide of over 150 salts, and 3) a collection of recipes making use of different salting techniques.

In June 2011 Salted won the James Beard Foundation Award

James Beard Foundation Award

The James Beard Foundation Awards were established in 1990 and are often called "The Oscars of Food." Held on the first weekend in May, the Awards honor the finest chefs, restaurants, wine professionals, journalists, cookbook authors, restaurant designers, and other food professionals in the...

 for Reference and Scholarship Cookbook. It has also been nominated for the International Association of Culinary Professionals

International Association of Culinary Professionals

The International Association of Culinary Professionals is a United States based not-for-profit professional association whose members work in culinary education, communication, or the preparation of food and beverage....

 Cookbook Awards for the Food & Beverage Reference/Technical category and First Book: The Julia Child Award.

Bitterman has also been named a tastemaker by Food & Wine

Food & Wine

Food & Wine is a monthly magazine published by American Express Publishing. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and seasonal/holiday content and has been credited by The New York...

 and a local food hero by Cooking Light. He is credited with having coined the word selmelier

Selmelier

A selmelier is a trained and knowledgeable professional specializing in culinary salt and its use in cooking and restaurant service.-Etymology:...

, a food service professional whose area of expertise is finishing salts and salting techniques. He is known as an expert in salt and consults with restaurateurs and lectures at culinary academies about the use of finishing salts and Himalayan salt blocks.

Television & Radio

• MSNBC: Your Business
• CBS News, “The History of Salt, in a Pinch”
• Oregon Public Broadcasting: ‘The Meadow’ Introduces Portland to the Salt of the Earth
• The Splendid Table (original air date 6 November 2010)
• WABC, “Shop Sells Worldwide Gourmet Salt”
• CBS Lifestyle Minute with Anthony Dias Blue
• WNYC, “Pass the Salt”
• WPR, Here on Earth, 17 June 2011

Print Press

• The Chicago Tribune, “Rules of Strategic Salting”
• The New York Times, “Selling Salts of Many Colors and Shapes”
• Every Day with Rachel Ray, “Salt Mover & Shaker,” November 2011
• The Sacramento Bee, “Exploring the Wonders of Salt”
• Cooking Light Magazine, “Local Food Heroes”
• Food & Wine, “Tastemakers: Salt”
• Via Magazine, "The Meadow, Portland's Salt Seller," February 2011
• TimeOut New York
• Women’s Health, “Plain Table Salt Takes a Back Seat”
• The Oregonian, "Best of 2010: Crack open the cookbook cream of the crop"
• The New York Times, “Culinary Voyage: Portland, OR,” April 2009
• Bon Appetit, “Finishing Salts,” July 2009
• Eating Well, “Nutrition News to Live By,” August 2009
• The Oregonian, “Taste: Using Table Salt? Shake Things Up Instead,” October 2009
• Elegant Bride, “Well Seasoned,” Winter 2009
• Northwest Palate Magazine, "A Purveyor of Salt", April 2007

Online Press

• The New York Times, “In Salts, a Pinch of Bali or a Dash of Spain”
• New York Times Magazine, "Culinary Voyage: Portland, Oregon
• Entrepreneur.com
• The Seattle Times, “Cooking with salt blocks and bowls is hot – and cold”
• The Seattle Times, “Salty advice and a recipe for Chevre with Cyprus Black Flake Sea Salt and Cacao Nibs”
• The Washington Post, “I Spice: Salt”
• Christian Science Monitor, "6 best food books coming this fall"
• Elle Decor, "Salt of the Earth"
• The Village Voice, “A Look Inside the Meadow”
• The Guardian, ” Savour salt – the seasoning of the senses”
• The Independent, “The white stuff: Exotic varieties of salt are all the rage”
• The Guardian,” Savour the Salt”
• The West, "Recipes: Artisanal salt gives dishes the wow factor"
• Portland Monthly, “Take it with a Grain of Salt, Or a Chunk”
• OregonLive, "Gerry Frank's Picks: Take a tasty drive along the northern Oregon coast"
• FoxNews.com, “Sixteen Sweet Cookbooks”
• SeriousEats.com, “Salt Mining: How to Cook with Specialty Salt”
• Gothamist, "Bloomberg Be Damned: NYC Gets Store Dedicated To Salt"
• Smith & Ratliff, “Salty, Bittery, Flowery and Sweet”
• Find.Eat.Drink., "Q & A with The Meadow’s Mark Bitterman"
• TravelOregon.com, “Chilling and Grilling at The Meadow”
• The Portland Mercury, "Worth His Salt"
• Portland Food & Drink, "The Meadow: Singing the Praises of Salt"