Stacey Smith
Stacey Smith is Senior Food & Drink Editor at Good Housekeeping, overseeing food and drink reviews across categories from coffee pods and veg boxes to natural wine and tequila. As senior food and drink editor for the Good Housekeeping Institute, she focuses on comparative, consumer-focused testing that helps readers make confident choices about what to buy and serve. Her coverage centres on everyday products and accessible treats, using clear, sensory language to translate tasting and testing into straightforward recommendations. She is also the founder of Crummbs, bringing an additional layer of food-focused editorial experience to her work.
Food and drink reviews for everyday choices
Smith’s core responsibility is looking after all food and drink reviews, a remit that explicitly spans coffee pods, veg boxes, natural wine and tequila. Her work includes supermarket-focused pieces such as a feature on a Tesco freezer product described as “like ice cream for breakfast” that became a go-to treat during a 30°C heatwave, showing how she frames products in terms of real-world moments and pleasures. She writes as a taster and tester rather than a trend commentator, concentrating on how products perform in the kitchen and at the table. The breadth of categories she covers means her reviews guide readers through both everyday staples and more specialist drinks, always with a direct link to how they taste and how they fit into daily life.
Seasonal and occasion-led eating and drinking
Alongside year-round product reviews, Smith writes guidance tied to specific occasions and seasons, such as advice on what wines work best with Easter feasting. In that context she approaches bottles as part of a broader menu, matching styles to celebratory dishes so the recommendations feel rooted in how people actually host and eat. Her supermarket freezer coverage during a heatwave similarly connects products to climate and comfort, positioning them as practical solutions as much as indulgences. This pattern of occasion-driven service runs through her food and drink writing, with products assessed on how well they support gatherings, holidays and everyday moments of respite.
Cross-brand food leadership
Smith holds the same senior food and drink editor role across other Hearst titles, including Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Esquire, where she is described as looking after food and drink reviews from coffee pods and veg boxes to natural wine and tequila. This cross-brand remit gives her a broad view of how different audiences approach food and drink, while keeping her focus on tested products rather than restaurant coverage or chef profiles. Working across multiple mastheads, she applies a consistent review framework to a wide range of formats, adapting tone for fashion-led, luxury and lifestyle contexts without losing the emphasis on what is in the glass or on the plate. The repeated description of her role across these outlets underlines that product reviewing is the centre of her editorial work rather than a side column.
Commissioning, pitching and the Good Housekeeping Institute
Smith’s position at the Good Housekeeping Institute also involves engagement with the wider food media and brand community, including speaking on podcasts about how to pitch food stories to the Institute. In that setting she represents the Institute’s approach to food and drink coverage, explaining what kinds of stories fit with its testing and review-led mission. Being identified as the Good Housekeeping Institute’s senior food and drink editor in digital editions further reinforces her role as a key voice on what the Institute examines, from supermarket wines for Easter to other consumer products. The combination of hands-on reviewing and external-facing commissioning insight means her work sits at the junction of rigorous product assessment and clear, practical storytelling for readers.
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.