Hanging at the Super Bowl of Swine

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, August, 2001 by Sarah Fetherston

Known best as the mild-mannered CEO of Reader's Digest Association, Thomas Ryder also lives a life less condensed far, far away from the publishing world--one that requires wet naps.

Ryder recently put his porcine-tasting skills to work as a judge at the annual Memphis in May event's big draw: the "Super Bowl of Swine," a.k.a. the world barbecue cooking championship.

Ryder's barbecue bona fides? He's part owner and self-described "chief food critic" of three restaurants, including a renowned rib joint called The Cookhouse in New Milford, Connecticut. There you'll find "a mythical and heroic" character named Fat Tommy, who gets credit for the slo-smoked BBQ served up nightly.

Ryder does have high-end foodie cred as well. He was once the publisher of Food & Wine, where he founded the Aspen Food & Wine Magazine Classic, and is an investor in a couple of culinary golden boy Danny Meyer's chichi New York eateries: Tabla and 11 Madison Park.

In fact, the two men have cultivated a friendship that has its roots in a shared love of food. Having bonded years ago when Meyer was starting out and Ryder was running Food & Wine, the pair still get together for an annual boys night out at a fine restaurant of Meyer's picking (this year's choice: Babbo in New York City's Greenwich Village). And Meyer joined Ryder in ranking entries at the world barbecue championship. The two were granted rare exemptions from the eight-hour seminar and rib-centric exam required of all prospective judges

because, as Ryder says, "Danny's an eminent scholar and I'm an eminent eater."

Ryder has a succinct explanation for his culinary passion: "It's the closest I'll ever come to being an artiste."