Peter Schorsch over at stpetersblog.com broke the news last week that Laura Reiley — restaurant critic at the St. Pete Times — might be taking a break from the paper for a year. Rumor confirmed!
“My husband had such an opportunity,” said Reiley. “A book contract, a sabbatical year and a fellowship in the Netherlands.” Reiley will be heading overseas with her family starting in June, and the Times has given her a one year leave of absence while she’s gone. She plans on working on a new cookbook idea she’s concocted while she’s over there, although she said it will have little to do with Edam or Dutch-process chocolate, except tangentially.
The big question is: Who will be writing the reviews while she’s gone?
“We’re still trying to figure that out,” said Reiley. She told me that the paper is looking at a few internal candidates to take her place for the year. She plans to return to her former position at the Times in July, 2011, “unless the economy takes a nosedive or something.”
More after the break:
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2010.