Sam Sifton Is Now the NYT's Food Editor

In a move hinted at last year, former New York Times restaurant critic — and current Senior Editor — Sam Sifton is taking on the title of Food Editor. As he pointed out on Twitter, Sifton is the first editor to have this position since Craig Claiborne held the title in the 1960s. A memo was released to the NYT staff this morning detailing Sifton's new role as head of the brand new Food section, a combination of the NYT Cooking site and the very popular Dining Section. Susan Edgerley has been named Sifton's deputy editor (she was formerly the editor of the dining section). Read the full memo below:

Take the Dining section. Add the new NYT Cooking site and app. Mix the ingredients together – a vast menu of easy-to-search recipes, restaurant and wine reviews, food and restaurant news – and you have a great buffet of offerings for Times readers.

That is why we are combining the two enterprises in a new department bearing the name it had in the days of Craig Claiborne: Food. The editor of this new department will be Sam Sifton. Susan Edgerley will be his deputy editor, helping to oversee the expanded group.

Joining them will be the Dining staff, as well as the team of journalists working on NYT Cooking. Collectively, the new department will produce the weekly print and digital report, as well as the content that will appear on the Cooking app. The group will work closely with editors of the NYT magazine, T Magazine and the Well blog to provide a central location for all Times readers' cooking and dining needs, by integrating their recipes into NYT Cooking and providing links to their food content, which they will continue to feature in their sections.

The section front for Dining will be rebranded as Food, and will deliver articles devoted to cooking, restaurants, wine and spirits, and of course to general food news. (Our social media handles will follow suit.)

The Times has long been a leader in covering all aspects of food and dining. The launch of the new Cooking app, along with combining the newsroom's editing and reporting talent in one team under the direction of Sam and with Susan's editorial and managerial help, will enhance our coverage and make it even more delightful and useful for readers.

· Sam Sifton to Head New 'Food' Desk at Times [Capital]
· New York Times Launches NYT Cooking Site [-E-]
· Sam Sifton to Helm New Times 'Dining News Product' [Eater NY]
· All Coverage of Sam Sifton on Eater [-E-]