Breana Lai Killeen
Breana Lai Killeen is the Associate Editorial Director of Food at Food & Wine, combining the disciplines of chef, dietitian, recipe developer, and farmer to shape approachable, technique-forward coverage of home cooking. Her work centers on translating professional kitchen knowledge, cultural food traditions, and nutritional insight into clear recipes, product tests, and service pieces that help home cooks cook better with what they have. She has written and edited thousands of recipes and articles for leading food publications, giving her an editorial range that spans everyday comfort food, globally inspired dishes, and detailed kitchen equipment reviews.
The 1-Ingredient Trick Chinese Chefs Use for Juicier Shrimp, Chicken, and Beef
Killeen’s coverage of Chinese cooking foregrounds technique and pantry structure, using reported pieces to bridge the gap between restaurant practice and the home kitchen.
In her explainer on the single-ingredient trick Chinese chefs rely on for juicier shrimp, chicken, and beef, she focuses on how one simple addition to a marinade or cooking process transforms texture across multiple proteins, making the concept actionable rather than abstract. A companion feature on the essential ingredients Chinese chefs always keep on hand builds out that framework, with chefs Martin Yan and Melissa King walking through staples like Shaoxing wine and Chinese black vinegar and how they underpin balance and depth in everyday cooking.
Across this strand of work she leans on interviews with working chefs, then distills their guidance into concise takeaways and ingredient lists that respect the original cuisine while staying firmly rooted in what a home cook can find and use. Her professional focus on culturally appropriate recipe development and storytelling reinforces this approach, prioritising flavor and authenticity without turning technique into a barrier.
We Tried 18 Boxes of Mac and Cheese to Find the Very Best
Killeen also writes comparative tests of familiar supermarket staples, treating boxed mac and cheese and similar products with the same rigor usually reserved for restaurant reviews or high-end gear. In her taste test of 18 boxes of mac and cheese, she sets clear criteria and works through multiple brands to identify the best options, presenting results in an accessible format that highlights texture, flavor, and overall eating experience. The piece is framed as service journalism for busy shoppers, but it is informed by her background as a culinary dietitian, which gives her an additional lens on how convenience foods fit into everyday cooking.
This product-testing work complements her recipe development: she does not just show readers how to cook from scratch, she also evaluates the shortcuts they already buy and explains which ones are worth keeping in the pantry.
Is This $1,700 Coffee Maker Worth It? Our Picky Editor Argues ‘Yes'
On the equipment side of her beat, Killeen brings long-term, real-world testing to high-ticket kitchen tools and coffee gear.
In her review of the Terra Kaffe TK-02 coffee maker, she frames the story around a year of daily use in her own kitchen, using that experience to assess how the machine performs over time rather than after a brief trial. The piece weighs cost, usability, and cup quality, with an emphasis on where an investment-level machine genuinely changes the routine of a serious coffee drinker. Her role as an editor is visible in the structure of the review: she threads technical detail, workflow observations, and plain-language pros and cons into a narrative that remains focused on a single question - whether the product earns its place on a counter and justifies its price.
This testing mindset carries across her broader coverage of tools and appliances, where the concern is always how well a piece of equipment serves busy home cooks rather than how impressive its specifications look on paper.
Classic Ways to Prepare Seafood This Summer, From Crab Cakes to Clams Casino
Killeen’s recipe work for Food & Wine and partner outlets shows a consistent interest in seafood cooked for gatherings, with an emphasis on straightforward methods that produce generous, crowd-pleasing results. In a Lowcountry-style crawfish boil featured in a summer seafood package, she builds a broth with clam juice, Cajun seasoning, Old Bay, lemons, garlic, and onions, then layers in crawfish, potatoes, corn, and sausage to create a complete meal in one pot.
The recipe finishes with a butter mixture seasoned with Louisiana-style hot sauce, underscoring her tendency to balance richness and heat in ways that suit large-format entertaining. A separate pan-seared salmon with lemon-butter sauce credited to her for Food & Wine pairs a quick, 15-minute cook time with classic flavors - lemon, butter, and capers - and specific serving suggestions, positioning the dish as an accessible route to an elegant dinner.
These pieces reflect a broader editorial pattern: seafood is treated as everyday cooking, not a project, and she uses clear timing, simple preparation steps, and familiar flavor combinations to keep the barrier to entry low. Across this recipe portfolio, the through-line is confidence-building - giving home cooks enough structure and detail that they can execute dishes that feel restaurant-worthy without needing professional training.
4 more food journalists.
Aaron Guerrero
Aaron Guerrero is head of the digital department at Miami’s Community Newspapers, where he pairs restaurant coverage with community-facing content. He focuses on how Miami-area restaurants evolve, celebrate, and experiment through new concepts, menus, and neighborhood-focused dining experiences. He reports on restaurant openings, such as an Italian food hall at Plaza Coral Gables, new executive lunch menus, and wood-fired Latin steakhouse brunches, explaining what sets each venue apart. He also covers awards, like a Wine Spectator honor for an Italian chophouse, and events that turn dining rooms into social hubs. His bylines extend to features on sports-themed gatherings, civic renamings, local visits to restaurant programs, sponsored community pieces, and official notices. His work is straightforward and descriptive, helping readers and local businesses connect around specific openings, promotions, and dining experiences.
Aarron Fleming
Aarron Fleming reports on how courts, jails and public safety systems work over time. He is a reporter at The Daily Memphian covering public safety, the local court system, suburban news and business developments in North Mississippi. His work follows trials, sentencing, appeals, plea deals and judicial decisions, including major cases tied to Tyre Nichols and rapper Young Dolph. He also covers jail conditions, inmate deaths, crime data, prosecution units, trafficking, shootings and public-order incidents. His suburban reporting examines cannabis businesses, restaurant openings and how commercial growth affects communities such as Olive Branch. Fleming previously covered education in the same newsroom. He uses clear, unadorned prose to explain legal steps, deadlines, institutional problems and the political, commercial and community effects of public-safety decisions.
Alana Al-Hatlani
Alana Al-Hatlani is a food writer and editor who treats recipes, restaurants, and food features as ways to explore culture, community, and the business of eating. She works on the food team at Southern Living, overseeing and contributing to print recipes and reported features. Her pastry-focused, restaurant-tested perspective comes from time in restaurant and bakery kitchens. She helps plan and write monthly food packages, including “The South’s Most Treasured Desserts,” and wrote “8 Summer Recipes Our Editors Make Every Year.” She also writes recipe tips, ingredient explainers, restaurant guides, and reported stories about workers, owners, and communities. Her subjects include regional specialties, dining scenes, kitchen basics, and food industries. Her work has appeared with OpenTable and Yahoo. She reports on the ground, explains techniques clearly, and connects specific dishes and places to larger stories about food and livelihood.
Alana Edgin
Alana Edgin is a business reporter whose strongest focus is food, restaurants and consumer-facing businesses. She works at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and has also had work syndicated across AOL and Yahoo News. She covers new openings, closings, expansions and franchise growth, along with retail, health, services, corporate news, data incidents, business support programs and sponsorships. Her reporting includes detailed roundups of new restaurants and businesses, coverage of El Pollo Loco’s opening, and stories on burger trucks, dessert shops, Vietnamese sandwich restaurants and gourmet markets. She also contributes to food and drink reviews, including fall coffee and jerky comparisons. Edgin reports with practical “what, when, where” details, structured comparisons and clear explanations of how offers, partnerships and business changes affect consumers and the local economy.