Emma North
Emma North focuses on seasonal shopping coverage that helps readers find practical products for food, home and everyday comfort. At Metro she writes detailed, product-led pieces that show how specific items can make hot weather more bearable, from kitchen appliances to footwear and wearable tech.
Seasonal shopping for staying cool
Much of Emma’s recent work is organised around heatwaves and warm weather, highlighting products that keep people cool and make summer more enjoyable. She covers food and drink appliances such as a Cuisinart ice cream and slushie maker, framing the piece around beating the heat while saving a significant amount of money on the purchase. Her writing leans on clear, concrete benefits, tying the promise of homemade ice cream and icy drinks directly to the experience of getting through high temperatures.
She also writes about accessories designed for hot days, including sandals described as “ideal for hot summer days,” using shoppers’ feedback about comfort as a central selling point. Across these stories she links products to specific weather conditions and practical needs, keeping the focus on how items fit into everyday routines rather than abstract trends.
Comfort-led fashion and warm weather style
Emma’s shopping coverage extends into fashion, where she spotlights clothing that balances style and comfort for warmer months. In a recent piece on new-in co-ord sets, she describes blue patterned trousers, cream shirts with bright patterns, linen shorts and other light pieces selected with rising temperatures in mind. Her language emphasises textures, colours and the feel of garments, signalling how they work as outfits when the weather shifts toward summer.
Footwear appears as part of the same warm-weather focus. The sandals she highlights are presented through the lens of how they perform in daily wear, with comfort and suitability for hot days placed ahead of purely aesthetic considerations. In these fashion stories she consistently anchors her choices in the practical experience of wearing the items, offering readers clear cues about when and how they might use them.
Wearable tech and wellbeing
Alongside food and fashion, Emma covers consumer technology with a strong emphasis on health and usability. Her piece on Oura’s smart ring focuses on tangible features like a week-long battery life and “advanced health insights,” spelling out what readers can expect from the device in everyday use. The article highlights the ring’s capacity for continuous wear and health tracking rather than abstract innovation, fitting it into the broader theme of products that support comfort and wellbeing.
Across her tech and gadget coverage she favours clear, functional detail: how long a device lasts between charges, what kind of health data it provides, and why those features matter to someone managing their routines in busy or hot conditions. This practical framing connects her wearable tech pieces back to the same core concern that runs through her food, fashion and summer lifestyle work — helping readers choose specific products that make them feel better day to day.
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.
Alice Lorenzato-Lloyd
Alice Lorenzato-Lloyd is editor at Secret Manchester, where she treats food as part of how people live in the city, not as an isolated subject. She covers restaurants, bars, street food and casual dining, linking new openings and food trends to neighbourhood change, local businesses and everyday routines. Her pieces focus on accessible spots, comfort dishes like pizza and tacos, and clear details of menus, presentation, atmosphere and practical information such as opening hours and booking. She often combines food, drink and live events, producing guides to venues for major sports tournaments and themed pop-ups as part of wider things to do. Alice also reports on hospitality business pressures, city-centre public spaces, charity initiatives, transport and infrastructure, always showing how food and drink fit into community and lifestyle stories. She previously wrote for other regional “Secret” sites as a staff writer and describes herself as a writer and food fanatic.
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.