Willoughby credits Harvard with teaching him how to write. He says that Harvard's copious number of writing assignments "prepared me for being a writer."
Gourmet's new editor attributes much of his success to the positive influence of classmate Ben Brooks '70, a fiction writer.
For the past 11 years, Willoughby has worked at Cook's Illustrated magazine, which is focused more exclusively on recipes than Gourmet does. He was a features writer on Cook's Illustrated until five years ago, when he became senior editor. He has also contributed to the New York Times and Martha Stewart Living.
Willoughby met Gourmet editor in chief Ruth Reichl at California's Culinary Institute's writer's workshop last year, and she was impressed enough to name him her second in command. Willoughby is currently a Cambridge resident but will move to New York City to run Gourmet.