Raquel Pelzel, Editorial Director, Voracious

Raquel Pelzel, Editorial Director, Voracious

Raquel Pelzel is the Editorial Director at Voracious, food and drink, culture, and lifestyle illustrated imprint of Little, Brown. As a lifelong curious cook and food obsessive, she looks to acquire and edit cookbooks that are encouraging and expressive. She believes that cookbooks can not only contribute to and enhance our connections to food and culture but redefine it, shining a light on new ways to think about food and approach cooking and caring for one another. 

Prior to joining Voracious in 2024, Raquel was the editorial director of cookbooks at Clarkson Potter, where she edited more than 20 New York Times bestsellers, two IACP “cookbook of the year” winners, as well as several James Beard award winners and two Art of Eating Prize-nominated cookbooks. Her authors included culinary icons: Ina Garten, Melissa Clark, Giada de Laurentiis, Nadiya Hussain, Michael Symon, and José Andrés (World Central Kitchen); celebrity cooks: Gisele Bündchen, Eva Longoria, and Danny Trejo; rising stars: Claire Saffitz, Eric Kim, Rick Martinez, Suzy Karadsheh, and the Leung family (The Woks of Life); and reknown chefs: Marc Vetri, Ayesha Nurdjaja, Rodney Scott. 

Originally from Chicago, after college Raquel went to culinary school and baked and cooked professionally before becoming a food writer and cookbook editor. She was an editor and recipe developer at Cook’s Illustrated and Tasting Table, and has co-authored more than two dozen cookbooks including five cookbooks of her own. She lives in Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram @raquelpelzel.