Editorial
After wrapping up my time as a professional chef, I moved away from kitchens and spent several years in publishing.
Below is a very brief overview of my work. More examples or links to specific articles are available upon request.
Sunset magazine
Staff writer & editor
What: I wrote about everything from grass-fed beef in Montana, to summer ice cream socials in Oregon, to beekeeping in Arizona, to nutrition everywhere, to abalone diving in the Pacific Ocean.
Result: Dozens of articles, hundreds of recipes, a slew of videos, multiple speaking engagements, 12 episodes of live TV, three cookbooks, a James Beard award for writing, a Henry Luce award for video scripts, a Telly award for How-to video production, and an ASME award for general excellence.
Team: Editor-in-Chief, Food editor, creative director, photo editor, copy editor, managing editor, plus dozens of excellent journalists I still call friends today.
SF Chronicle
What: I was a columnist for the SF Chronicle covering all things baking and pastry-related in Northern California.
Result: Report, interview, write, and edit a 700-1,000 word story, plus do the food styling for each story’s recipe, for the Sunday paper.
Symantec
Content lead
What: In addition to the UX work of transactional emails, lead-gen ads, and related landing-page copy for a cybersecurity company, I wrote a series of long-form articles about their products.
Problem: As a company that had been dinged by the SEC three times for making fraudulent claims, Norton asked me to partner closely with compliance and create informative articles to help people understand their risks and where Norton’s products could “help” protect their identity.
Fix: I launched a newsletter for the brand that quickly gained a readership of 300K+ and distributed articles, which informed customers of potential threats, how the brand’s products could help protect them, and accurate information on making good choices for their needs.
Result: Dozens of articles that (to the shock of all the stakeholders) needed NO edits from legal because they were legally accurate, well written, and customer focused.
Team: Three members from the internal counsel team and the CMO.
My Fitness Pal
Contributor
What: Wrote several dozen articles for this health and fitness brand focused on food trends, healthy eating, and nutrition.
Result: About two dozen articles focused on nutrition, healthy and seasonal eating/cooking which were peer reviewed by a staff registered dietician or board certified physician.
Team: Assigning editor, managing editor.