America's Test Kitchen Names Kevin Pang Editorial Director of Digital Content

Award-Winning Journalist to Oversee Development and Execution of Digital Content

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Sep 23, 2020, 08:00 ET

BOSTON, Sept. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, America's Test Kitchen named Kevin Pang as its Editorial Director of Digital Content. Pang, a James Beard Award winner, worked at both the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times and is widely recognized for creating The Takeout, a successful food site he launched for The Onion Inc. He is currently a contributor to The New York Times Magazine.

Pang has directed a documentary film on Netflix chronicling the startup of a Chicago restaurant, hosted a television show about cheeseburgers in Chicago, and produced a podcast that explores the craft of writing. In his newly created role at America's Test Kitchen, Pang will be responsible for developing and executing a content strategy to grow the audience for the company's websites and social and video platforms. His new position takes effect on November 2.

"Kevin has been telling the stories of how food shapes the way people live for the last fifteen years. He has a knack for creating engaging content and has the digital business acumen that we need to continue enhancing our online presence," said Fran Middleton, Chief Digital Officer of America's Test Kitchen.

"Kevin has a demonstrated track record of growing online audiences," said David Nussbaum, Chairman and CEO of America's Test Kitchen. "Our digital businesses now represent more than 40% of our revenue. Kevin is the person to help continue to build a culture of innovation that will accelerate the growth of these businesses."

Pang started his career as a journalist at the Los Angeles Times, and then spent eleven years at the Chicago Tribune as a reporter and restaurant critic. He is a five-time finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award in journalism, including a 2010 win for "The Cheeseburger Show." In 2015, his documentary "For Grace" premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival to critical acclaim and just completed a four-year run on Netflix.

Pang joined The Onion in 2016, where he founded the food site The Takeout and served as its editor in chief. Under his direction, the site attracted over 6.5 million unique monthly visitors and was ranked in the top 25 global food sites according to Comscore. Pang was most recently Creative Director at M. Harris & Co, a Chicago-based marketing firm. Pang was born in Hong Kong, raised in Toronto and Seattle, and earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Southern California. He is currently pursuing his MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

"America's Test Kitchen has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. It has helped me wow friends at dinner parties, make my picky eater son try food he never would've given a chance, and made me a better cook with every dish I try," said Pang, 39. "My goal is to help people fall in love with the ATK brand, as I have. It's about reimagining the content we produce to a larger audience, especially digital natives, so they realize we're the most reliable cooking site in the world. We want to make ATK a daily habit. If dream jobs had dream jobs, this would be it."

America's Test Kitchen runs three websites (AmericasTestKitchen.com, CooksIllustrated.com, and CooksCountry.com), which are supported by more than 445,000 paid subscribers (up 10% YTD) and which do not accept advertisements. The company's websites have been gated for more than 20 years, making America's Test Kitchen a pioneer in digital business supported by paid subscriptions. ATK Reviews provides in-depth ratings for 7500+ supermarket ingredients and kitchen equipment and this content supports an e-commerce business that has grown 40% in 2020. ATK social platforms have a combined audience of 8 million and generate 125 million monthly impressions (August 2020). America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country are the two highest rated cooking shows on public television generating a combined weekly audience of 4 million, while platforms such as YouTube, Pluto, and Tubi, continue to expand the shows' audience into new demographics with over 100 million minutes of watch time on these platforms.

About America's Test Kitchen

America's Test Kitchen has been teaching home cooks how to be successful in the kitchen since 1993. Our mission is to empower and inspire confidence, community, and creativity in the kitchen. Millions watch our two shows on public television, read our two flagship magazines (Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country), and rely on our books, websites, videos, and podcasts. America's Test Kitchen is located in a state-of-the-art Boston facility with 15,000 sq. ft. of test kitchen and studio space. More than 50 test cooks exhaustively test recipes until we arrive at the best version. A panel of 60,000 highly engaged volunteer home cooks provides detailed feedback on our recipes so we know they work every time. We also rate cookware and supermarket ingredients to help home cooks select the best-quality products. The America's Test Kitchen television show launched in 2001, and the company added a second television program, Cook's Country, in 2008. America's Test Kitchen Kids launched in 2018 and offers books, subscription boxes, and a website to educate the next generation of home cooks. Learn more at https://www.americastestkitchen.com/.

SOURCE America's Test Kitchen