Tom Sietsema

Coming Up

The line from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service into food writing gave Tom Sietsema a broad reporting base before he ever became a familiar byline. He worked as a writer at Microsoft, then as a writer at San Francisco Chronicle, and later as a writer at publications nationwide. The sequence matters: each stop widened the frame, building a voice shaped by observation, editing discipline, and the habits of long-form reporting. At The Washington Post, Tom Sietsema spent 2000–2025 as food critic, a run that put him at the center of Washington dining for nearly 25 years. That role tied his name to restaurant coverage in the capital, where the work depends on judgment, consistency, and a close read on how a city eats. Next Course now extends that same scrutiny in a different format.

Where They Are Now

Next Course has given Tom Sietsema a direct channel since 2026, moving his work from the newspaper page into an online newsletter. The format changes, but the core assignment does not: track what people are eating, how they are eating it, and what those meals say about the moment. The line marks a clean break after nearly 26 years at the newspaper, with the practical details left plain. It also defines the scale of the transition: a major institutional role exchanged for a smaller domestic footprint and a more independent publishing model through Next Course.

In Their Words The statement lays out the basic coordinates without decoration: Minnesota, Georgetown, and Washington. It also places the work inside a lived routine, with a partner and Henry, a Whippet, part of the picture rather than separate from it. “I traded a big home for a small apartment and said so long to my job as a food critic for The Washington Post after almost 26 years.” This is a direct account of leaving a long-held position. The language is spare, and the effect is to show the size of the change without leaning on sentiment: a home reduced, a title relinquished, and a new phase opened through Next Course.