Barbara Costikyan
Barbara Heine Costikyan, born Barbara Virginia Fatt, was an American food writer.
Early life
Barbara Virginia Fatt was born in New York City, the daughter of Arthur C. Fatt and Virginia Finder Fatt. Her father was an advertising executive. She attended the Birch Wathen School in Manhattan, and graduated from Smith College in 1950.Career
Barbara Heine was an editor at Esquire magazine, and a political hostess through her second husband's work in New York City. During the 1980 Democratic National Convention, she hosted a reception for the Alaska delegation.Costikyan became a contributor to New York magazine in 1980, writing the "Underground Gourmet" column, and other features about affordable dining in the city. Her writing reflected an interest not only in the food on the plate, but in the people who prepare it. "I can't think about food without thinking about the people who do it. It is, after all, a very human enterprise. People prepare it with love for other people to eat," she explained in 1980. She also wrote for The New York Times, ''Harper's Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan magazine, and published a children's book, Be Kind to Your Dog at Christmas''.