You’ve seen the shallot pasta. You’ve probably made #TheStew. Maybe you even own the famous gold-rimmed plates she uses in her YouTube videos. But when you’re scrolling through Alison Roman’s Instagram or watching her whip up a "home movie" in a tiny Brooklyn kitchen, it’s easy to lose track of time. How long has she actually been doing this?
How old is Alison Roman? As of early 2026, Alison Roman is 40 years old.
She was born on September 1, 1985. It’s a detail that often surprises people because she’s managed to bridge that weird gap between the old-school magazine world of Bon Appétit and the chaotic, fast-paced world of TikTok and Substack. Honestly, she’s basically the patron saint of the "unfussy" millennial lifestyle, but her career has more miles on it than a well-loved cast-iron skillet.
Why People Constantly Ask How Old Is Alison Roman
Age in the food world is a funny thing. We’re used to seeing either the 22-year-old "content creator" who just discovered what a shallot is or the 65-year-old grandmaster who’s been in a professional kitchen since the Ford administration. Roman doesn't really fit either mold.
She grew up in the San Fernando Valley, right outside Los Angeles. If you do the math, she was a teenager in the late 90s and early 2000s—a vibe that still occasionally peaks through in her style and no-nonsense attitude. She didn't take the traditional culinary school route, either.
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At 19, she made a pretty bold move. She dropped out of the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she was studying creative writing. Why? To work in restaurants.
That was roughly 2004. Think about that for a second. While most people her age were figuring out their majors, she was already on the line at Sona in LA. By the time she hit her mid-20s, she had worked at heavy hitters like Quince in San Francisco and Milk Bar in New York.
The Career Timeline That Actually Makes Sense
When you realize she’s 40, her level of "effortless" expertise starts to look a lot more like "earned" expertise. It takes a long time to learn how to make a recipe look that simple.
- The Early 20s: Grinding in professional kitchens. This is the "chef" era where she learned the technical skills that make her recipes actually work (even if they seem "unfussy").
- The Late 20s (2011): She joined Bon Appétit as a freelance recipe tester. She eventually became a senior food editor. This was the era of the "test kitchen" boom.
- The 30s (2017-2020): This was the explosion. Dining In was published when she was 32. Nothing Fancy followed at 34. This is when #TheCookies and #TheStew became literal household names.
- The 40s (Present Day): She’s now a mother, a shop owner, and a mogul in her own right.
A New Chapter at 40: Motherhood and The Catskills
If you’ve been following her lately, you know her life looks a lot different than it did during the "shallot pasta" days of 2020. She married producer Max Cantor in September 2023, and in early 2025, she welcomed her first child, a son named Charlie Davis Roman Cantor.
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Coming into her 40s has seemingly brought a shift in her content. She’s been very open about the "raw" feeling of postpartum life. In her newsletters, she’s joked about her "milk-heavy" lifestyle and the exhaustion of being a new parent.
But she isn't just staying home. She opened First Bloom, a small grocery store in Bloomville, New York. It’s a physical manifestation of her brand: high-quality pantry staples, local produce, and that specific "Alison Roman" aesthetic.
What Most People Get Wrong About Her Success
People look at her age and her rapid rise on social media and assume it was an overnight success story. It wasn't.
She spent nearly a decade in the "traditional" food media world before the internet decided she was a star. That’s why her recipes have such staying power. Unlike a lot of viral food trends that disappear after a week, Roman’s recipes are built on a foundation of professional technique. She knows why the chickpeas need to be fried that long. She knows exactly how much salt is too much (though, in her world, "too much" is a high bar).
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The Evolution of "Unfussy"
At 40, Roman seems to be leaning even further into the idea of "something from nothing"—which happens to be the title of her 2025 cookbook.
The title reflects a more mature approach to cooking. It’s less about the "dinner party as a performance" and more about the "dinner party as a survival tactic" for busy adults. It’s about using what’s in the pantry because you’re too tired to go to the store, but you still want to eat something that tastes like a real meal.
Key Takeaways from Roman’s "Age 40" Era
- Experience Matters: Her recipes work because she spent her 20s doing the hard labor in professional kitchens.
- Pivoting is Healthy: She’s moved from magazine editor to NYT columnist to independent creator and small business owner.
- Authenticity over Perfection: Her recent newsletters about the "messiness" of motherhood have resonated because they feel real, not curated.
If you’re looking to bring a bit of that Alison Roman energy into your own kitchen, don’t worry about your age or whether you have the "right" equipment. Start with the pantry. Grab a tin of anchovies, a bunch of dill, and maybe a very large bag of shallots.
The best way to keep up with her current projects is through her Substack, "A Newsletter," or by visiting her shop in the Catskills if you're ever in Upstate New York. She’s proving that being 40 in the food world isn't about slowing down—it’s about finally having the confidence to cook exactly what you want, how you want.