Rachel Ogden
Rachel Ogden focuses on the practical side of food and kitchen life, connecting how people cook with the tools and spaces that make it possible. She is a freelance journalist with more than 20 years of experience, with a long-running specialism in interiors and domestic technology. Her work combines detailed testing of kitchen appliances with reported features on work, wellbeing and everyday generosity, giving her coverage a grounded, real-world feel.
Kitchen appliances on test
Much of Ogden’s recent work is built around rigorous reviews of blenders, food processors and other small kitchen machines. At Woman & Home, she has tested models ranging from the NutriBullet Blender Combo and KitchenAid Artisan K400 to high-powered options like the Sage Super Q and Vitamix Ascent A2300i.
Her reviews of compact food processors, such as the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor and Kenwood MultiPro Compact, focus on how well they handle real kitchen tasks, how they fit into small spaces and whether they justify the investment.
She also evaluates more affordable blenders like the Kenwood Blend-X Fresh, weighing performance against price and reliability. Beyond Woman & Home, she reviews small appliances for consumer technology and review outlets, extending her testing approach to a broader range of products.
Her feature in The Guardian on the pursuit of the perfect pizza, framed around soot, semolina and a heavy steel, shows the same attention to method and equipment applied to cooking technique as well as hardware.
Interiors and home improvement
Ogden has spent many years writing predominantly about interiors, with a focus on how homes are planned, extended and fitted out.
Her author biography at Woman & Home describes work on topics such as extending a home, choosing kitchen worktops, flooring and storage, reflecting a practical, project-based view of domestic spaces. She has written for a broad set of interiors and lifestyle titles, including mainstream newspapers and specialist home magazines, bringing continuity to how she covers property and interior design.
In addition to her freelance writing, she previously held an editorial role at Woman & Home, working on pages and website content for a women’s lifestyle audience. This interiors background underpins her kitchen and appliance coverage, where layout, durability and usability are treated as integral to how people cook and live.
Cleaning tech and everyday domestic routines
Alongside food-focused tools, Ogden writes about floorcare and cleaning, treating appliances as part of broader domestic routines rather than in isolation. Her recent Woman & Home pieces on the best robot vacuums, best cordless vacuum cleaners and the best Shark vacuum examine how these products reduce effort, handle different floor types and fit into busy households. These guides emphasise ease of use, portability and power, suggesting an interest in whether technology genuinely improves daily life rather than just adding features.
By covering both kitchen and cleaning equipment in depth, she maps out a practical, appliance-led view of the home that sits close to how readers actually cook, clean and organise space.
Work, wellbeing and seasonal generosity
Ogden also writes features that extend beyond hardware into lifestyle and wellbeing, often anchored in everyday experiences. In a Woman & Home article on why going back to work is good for wellbeing, she explores the emotional and mental benefits of fulfilling work, positioning employment as a positive force in people’s lives.
Her seasonal features, including a piece on 13 ways to spread cheer and do good at Christmas, focus on practical acts of kindness and accessible ways to support others. A profile of someone who cooks Christmas dinner for homeless and vulnerable people centres food and service together, showing how a kitchen can become a site of community and care.
These stories sit alongside her appliance and interiors writing, adding human context to the domestic settings she usually covers.
Career scope and outlets
Ogden works as a freelance journalist across newspapers, consumer magazines and review sites, with a portfolio that spans interiors, property, travel, lifestyle and product testing. Her author biography lists contributions to a wide range of brands, including Woman & Home, Ideal Home, Elle Decoration, Real Homes, Grand Designs, Livingetc, 25 Beautiful Homes, The Evening Standard and The Independent. She has also written for national papers and specialist titles such as The Guardian, The i Paper and various consumer technology outlets where she reviews small appliances. Her experience includes an editorial position at Woman & Home earlier in her career, giving her an understanding of magazine production as well as writing. She has been recognised within the property and interiors sector, having been shortlisted for Lifestyle & Interiors Journalist of the Year at the 2018 Property Press Awards.
Taken together, Ogden’s work offers a blend of food-adjacent appliance testing, interiors and practical lifestyle features, always rooted in how homes and routines actually function. Her coverage is most distinct where cooking, equipment and domestic space meet, whether she is chasing flawless pizza or deciding which blender or food processor deserves a permanent place on the counter.
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.
Amy Clarke
Amy Clarke stands out for turning food trends, sustainability and rising costs into practical guidance. She writes about changing tastes, new ingredients, formats and dining habits, as well as budget-friendly sustainable eating, nutrition, food shopping and the pressures extreme weather places on small food businesses. Her work includes forward-looking trend round-ups, advice on eating sustainably on a budget, cheaper alternatives to expensive superfoods and a report on how ice cream vans manage heat, logistics and profitability. She works as a multimedia reporter for News Shopper Series, with past work published in Sutton & Croydon Guardian, Yahoo News UK and The Conversation. Clarke combines reported features with clear explainers, expert voices and step-by-step advice. She uses plain language, specific examples and practical tips to show what food changes mean for readers and businesses.