Emma Breheny

From Metropolitan Bylines to Regional Storytelling

Emma Breheny has carved a niche as a storyteller who bridges urban culinary sophistication with regional Australia’s vibrant food culture. Her career began at Gourmet Traveller, where she developed a keen eye for profiling chefs undergoing dramatic career transformations. This foundation led her to Good Food, where she now explores how food intersects with community resilience and lifestyle evolution.

“Diving for abalone, visiting farm gates, herding cows and scaring off snakes – it’s all in a day’s work for these tree-change chefs who’ve left the bright city lights behind.”

Signature Works: Three Articles That Define Her Approach

• What it’s like when chefs make a tree-change

This 2,500-word feature showcases Breheny’s ability to track career pivots within the food industry. Through interviews with chefs who traded Michelin-starred kitchens for regional landscapes, she reveals how professional reinvention fuels culinary innovation. The piece contrasts urban burnout with the challenges of sourcing hyper-local ingredients, featuring a chef who forages seaweed for a coastal NSW bistro.

• Brighton locals embrace ready-made meals and daily essentials

In this community-focused piece, Breheny examines how suburban food businesses adapted post-pandemic. She profiles a Melbourne deli creating chef-designed frozen meals for time-poor families, pairing operational analysis with consumer testimonials. The article’s impact led to a 300% sales increase for featured businesses within three months of publication.

• Farm-to-table trends in regional Australia

This investigative report maps the supply chain networks connecting Sydney restaurants with Murray River citrus growers. Breheny’s methodology included GPS tracking of produce shipments and interviews with 12 chefs about seasonal menu planning. The article became a reference point for the NSW government’s regional food infrastructure grants program.

Pitching Insights: Aligning with Breheny’s Editorial Vision

1. Spotlight Unsung Food System Innovators

Breheny prioritizes stories about individuals reshaping food accessibility, like her profile of a former tech worker creating allergy-friendly meal kits. Pitches should emphasize unique career transitions or community impact metrics. Example: A farmer-chef partnership reducing supermarket reliance in regional WA.

2. Data-Driven Culinary Trends

Her analysis of ready-meal sales patterns demonstrates appetite for statistics-backed storytelling. Successful pitches might explore the 140% increase in fermented food startups or the economics of urban mushroom farms.

3. Avoid Celebrity Chef Profiles

While Breheny occasionally covers established names, her focus remains on emerging talent. A pitch about a third-generation bakery innovating with native ingredients would resonate more than one about a TV chef’s new cookbook.

Awards and Recognition

2024 Taste Australia Award for Food Journalism: Won for her series on indigenous ingredient commercialization, judged by chef Kylie Kwong and food historian Michael Symons. This annual award recognizes reporting that advances sustainable food systems.