Troy Johnson (writer)

Johnson was raised in Rancho Peñasquitos, a suburb of San Diego, and attended Mt. Carmel High School. He graduated in 1997 from California State University, Chico with a bachelor's degree in speech communications and poetry.^[4]

After college, he began writing as a music journalist where from 2002 to 2007 he was the music editor of the San Diego CityBeat.^[1] During that time he wrote pieces for Billboard and Spin. He has also written articles for magazines such as Surfer, Rolling Stone, Mojo and Paper. He also wrote and hosted a San Diego TV show about indie rock called Fox Rox, which ran from 2001 to 2007.^[5] The show garnered a number of local Emmy Awards.^[1]

In 2008 when both shows were cancelled, lifestyle publication Riviera Magazine gave Johnson the opportunity to write about food.^[1] The next three years were spent editing the award winning food critic. That time was also spent cultivating his palate, studying flash cards, and talking to chefs.^[1] When that critic left, the opportunity to presented itself to become the next food critic. His first editorial of a local Italian restaurant impressed the editorial staff. It also won Best in Show for the San Diego Press Club.^[1]

In 2010, Johnson responded to a Food Network blog searching for hosts and submitted a six minute long audition tape.^[1] In 2011, he wrote and hosted the culinary travel series, filming nine episodes in six weeks.^[4] Crave aired in August 2011 on the Food Network.^[6] After two seasons and declining ratings, the show was cancelled.^[1] Later in 2011, he became the food and restaurant editor-at-large and dining critic for San Diego Magazine.^[7]

After becoming a fan favorite on Crave and it being the number two show in reruns on Fridays, the Food Network asked Johnson to become a judge on Guy's Grocery Games which started in 2013. He is still a rotating judge.^[1] He has published a book about growing up with a lesbian mother, titled Family Outing.^[8]