Alice Lorenzato-Lloyd
Alice Lorenzato-Lloyd covers the food scene with an emphasis on how places to eat and drink fit into the wider life of the city. She writes about restaurants, bars and street food as part of a broader lifestyle brief, connecting new openings and food trends to neighbourhood change, local businesses and everyday routines.
City dining and casual food spots
Alice’s food coverage centres on accessible dining, from street food takeovers to casual restaurants and bars. She has written about a Mexi-Cali summer takeover in the Northern Quarter serving birria tacos, Texas toast and margaritas with tortilla hats, focusing on the specific dishes, the atmosphere and the seasonal angle of the event. She frequently highlights pizza, tacos and other comfort foods, picking out details like distinctive toppings or playful presentation to give a clear picture of what a venue offers. Her pieces tend to emphasise how a spot works for relaxed visits with friends or family, with opening hours, booking details and practical information woven into the description of the food.
Food, drink and live events
Many of Alice’s articles combine food and drink with events, showing how hospitality venues slot into sport and culture moments. She has produced guides to where to watch major rugby tournaments in the city, describing pubs and venues in terms of their screens, atmosphere and the food and drink available alongside the matches. Her writing in these pieces links menus and drinks lists to the overall experience, positioning food as part of a day or night out rather than the sole focus. This approach recurs across her work, where she treats special menus, pop-ups and themed offerings as part of a wider calendar of things to do.
Hospitality business pressures and city change
Alongside restaurant and bar coverage, Alice reports on the pressures facing hospitality and other local businesses. She has written about recent closures across the city, citing research that shows a significant proportion of businesses worry they could be next and setting out threats such as supply chain delays and rising energy and food costs. Her coverage examines how economic conditions affect independent venues as well as larger operators, and she connects these issues to what residents see on the high street. In articles on city-centre spaces such as Piccadilly Gardens, she reports on plans to add more planting, events and attractions, showing how public realm changes could support a more vibrant environment for nearby businesses, including food and drink operators.
Food within community and lifestyle reporting
Alice’s work often situates food within community and lifestyle stories, especially around charity and seasonal initiatives. She has written about a local charity opening a pop-up shelter at Christmas to provide hot meals, spare clothes and medical care for people experiencing homelessness, drawing attention to the role of food in support services. Her articles on airport changes and city infrastructure incorporate hospitality details such as new bars and dining options alongside transport improvements. Across these pieces she treats food as one element of how people move through and enjoy the city, rather than an isolated subject.
Role and background
Alice is editor at Secret Manchester, overseeing lifestyle coverage with food as a core strand of her work. She has extensive experience writing for city-focused titles within the same network, previously contributing to other regional “Secret” sites as a writer. On her professional profiles she describes herself as a writer and a food fanatic, underlining a personal interest in eating out and exploring new places that aligns with her beat.
4 more food journalists.
Adam Maidment
Adam Maidment is a senior What's On and LGBTQ+ reporter whose food and leisure coverage is built around immersive, first-person reporting and concrete detail. He works at the Manchester Evening News, focusing on new restaurant and bar openings, regular food reviews, gig and event coverage, and issues affecting LGBTQ+ people. He treats restaurants, pubs, bars and experiences as stories about place, people and community, explaining what makes a venue different and how it fits into the local dining scene. His pieces cover pricing, service, atmosphere, crowds and concept, and he is willing to be critical when gimmicks undermine the experience. He writes character-led pub profiles, works shifts, joins treasure hunts and attends major cultural events, inviting readers to follow what he does and use his straightforward assessments to decide where to eat, drink and spend time.
Aly Walansky
Aly Walansky specializes in service-driven food coverage that treats cocktails and dining as tools for celebration, focusing on how logistics, ordering options, and menu choices turn everyday meals and major holidays into shared experiences. She is a longtime food and travel journalist now writing for Forbes, where her beat centers on cocktails and occasion-driven dining. Her work includes practical, expert-driven roundups such as guides to many variations on the classic martini, shipped-meals gift lists for Mother’s Day, and accessible formats for Thanksgiving and other holidays. She reports through structured lists, restaurant features, and menu-focused profiles that highlight signature dishes and dining trends. Across outlets, she extends this approach to home cooking, grocery shopping, and recipes, and runs a newsletter that shares her current assignments and industry commentary.
Ben Hurst
Ben Hurst joins food, entertainment and cost-of-living angles, treating cooking, groceries and celebrity stories as everyday decisions for readers. He is Head of Lifestyle and Money at WalesOnline, shaping practical, trending coverage that is tightly written, headline-led and easy to scan and share. His food reporting leans on TV chefs and supermarket behaviour, turning their advice and product changes into clear tips and consumer explainers focused on value for money and household budgets. He also writes extensively about TV and celebrity figures, using recognisable names to carry stories about health, family challenges, cancer treatment and resilience. Alongside these, he produces visual, nostalgia-driven galleries and concise explainers on wide-interest phenomena, drawing on a senior newsroom background that includes executive editor, video lead and news editor roles.
Bill Poindexter
Bill Poindexter stands out for hyperlocal food journalism that treats regional culinary traditions as community identity rather than simple dining coverage. He is managing editor of Gold Mountain California News Media and shapes the Auburn Journal’s editorial direction. His reporting presents food establishments as cultural anchors that reflect Gold Country’s evolving social fabric. He documents community food events and competitions as shared milestones, highlighting family involvement and local pride. Through his Substack newsletter Dispatches from the Road, he writes first-person narratives about everyday food experiences and local businesses. He connects food to the local economy and regional planning, showing how restaurants, bakeries, and food-related infrastructure support employment, agricultural sustainability, and quality of life.