Dave Cook was born in Passaic, N.J., and raised in Stamford, Conn. He has lived in New York ever since, graduating from Columbia University. His original major was chemical engineering, but that “didn’t take,” so he switched to English Literature. He also is a freelance photojournalist.

Some of his earliest food memories come from visits with his maternal grandparents.

“My grandmother was born in what’s now Slovakia, and for dinner with our extended family she might slow-cook sausage in sauerkraut, stuff and bake green peppers, and set out a heavy, sour loaf of corn rye. When we were lucky, our bread would be slathered with bone marrow, well-salted. My family’s everyday meals, however, usually ran to traditional American fare, perhaps red-sauce Italian-American. For a change of pace, we’d order takeout Chinese of the chow mein and chop suey variety.

College at Columbia changed all that.

“On my dorm floor, I had classmates from a half-dozen foreign countries; the student population on the whole was, as you'd imagine, even more diverse; and beyond the college gates was an entire world of cuisines. I've been exploring ever since.”

In January 2005, Dave launched New York Food – “not with a focus on pizza and bagels, but in recognition of the amazing variety of cuisines the city can offer.” Not long after, he changed the name to Eating In Translation, “which better reflects my (sometimes perplexing) encounters with fascinating foods.”

Despite his family name, Dave doesn't cook much.

“I'd rather get out and about. I'm interested less in dining as an event and more in the role of food in day-to-day life, especially for immigrant populations. Think ‘everyday deliciousness,’ where every day might offer a different cuisine.”

In addition to The New York Times, Dave has contributed articles and photos to many other print and online publications, including the long-established quarterly magazine The Art of Eating and several publications in Europe, South America and Asia.

“Perhaps an Eating In Translation book is in the offing; we'll see.”

To contact Dave, email davemcook@gmail.com.