Recognized Culinary Travel Leaders 2025

I am a storyteller. I tell stories to entertain, educate, transform, and inspire as I travel the US in my fifth-wheel Jayco. Let me help you move forward in today's world of SEO-driven content that must also tell a passionate story.As a B2B and B2C content marketing writer, I find the best way to help you tell your story, share your message, and build connections with your clients and customers. I specialize in business, executive profiles, travel & tourism, hospitality, wine, technology, and education. I bring three decades of content writing and journalism expertise to every project. Whether it's long-form content, social media, blog articles, marketing collateral, or landing pages, I have the expertise to research and write what you need. I specialize in creating personable and professional executive profiles.I always provide clean, accurate, well-researched copy. Clients include Subspace, Foundation, Mind & Metrics, Kestrel Strategy, Lifestyle Publications, UTDallas, Northcentral University, State Farm, Hotchkiss Insurance, Where Arizona, WHERE Phoenix+Scottsdale, Rocky Mountaineer, Travelocity, Alamo, Fairmont Hotels, Experience Scottsdale, AAA, Grapevine (TX) Convention & Visitor Bureau, Richman Media Group, APL Media, Modern Luxury, Montage, Marriott, Expedia, AOL Travel, American Airlines, and more. I am also founder and editor-in-chief of WanderWithWonder.com, an award-winning digital publication. We received a 2021 SATW Thomas Lowell Award for Best Travel Journalism Website. At Wander, we cover travel, food, wine, lifestyles, and wellness.

I am an experienced leader and educator who has worked in journalism, marketing, higher education, content management, social media and recipe development. I am also author of eight books, including the recently released Disney Princess Tea Parties Cookbook and the popular Super Easy 5-Ingredient Cookbook. My writing has appeared in dozens of print and online publications including the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Connecticut Magazine, The Today Show Website, iVillage, Momtastic, SheKnows and Betty Crocker publications. I specialize in multi-platform storytelling, social and digital marketing and leveraging audience trends and data to successfully exceed short- and long -erm goals for my publications. I believe in encouraging curiosity in my colleagues and teams. I believe that each person’s unique voice is what makes writing special. And I believe that a collaborative, team-based work environment is essential to creating great work with the highest integrity, accuracy and vision.

I’m the Founder & Managing Director of Eating Europe, where I’ve been helping travelers discover Europe’s food, culture, and local life since 2011. My journey started when I moved to Rome in 2009 and fell in love with how food was woven into daily life. What began as casual walks through my neighborhood — introducing friends to the local butcher, gelato maker, and chefs — grew into food tours that offer travelers authentic, personal connections to the cities they visit. Since then, I’ve worked closely with local chefs, artisans, and small businesses across Europe to create immersive food experiences in cities like Rome, Lisbon, Amsterdam, and London. My expertise is in European food culture, culinary traditions, and experiential travel — showing people how food can tell the real story of a place and its people. Topics I can speak to: European food culture & traditions Experiential travel & food tourism How food connects people to place Building authentic food experiences Local food scenes in Rome, Lisbon, Amsterdam, London, and more

With 25 years in the travel industry across Europe, I have recently started my own business as a travel consultant. Leveraging my experiences as a tour guide in France, Norway and the Benelux, as well as resort work in other countries, I now help plan itineraries for independent travelers to Europe,

California based Interior designer with a decade of experience designing commercial and residential spaces for private clients, real estate investors and award-winning architecture firms. She is now specializing in bathroom design. Lisette is also a self taught baker and has a passion for the culinary arts often relaxing in the kitchen by trying new recipes.

I have a role as a senior Risk and Assurance Advisor at Wesley Mission Queensland. I have been a Forensic Accountant with over 25 years experience in litigation support, fraud investigation, fraud risk assessments and criminal defence. I have a special interest in preventing fraud in Not-for-Profit organisations.

Whether the product I have been selling for over 10 years in aviation or restaurant business for both B2B and B2C, I searched for the answer to a simple question: "What do they need to buy my product?" Thanks to my advanced knowledge of MS Excel, after I understand, analyze, and visualize the data, I begin by emerging with market, market share and target segments. Then, I create the communication plan by highlighting the features that I will communicate with the product according to the needs and access channels of each segment. I make optimum use of the marketing budget given to me by making ROI calculations of marketing tools such as paid search, social media ads, incentives, etc.. After getting the permanent residence and work permit from the Canadian government, I want to move my experience and skills to Canada. Thanks to my fluent English and French, I look forward to exceeding new goals.

Having journeyed to all seven continents, consider Angela Adto your luxury travel aficionado. She’s summited Mount Kilimanjaro, scuba-dived with enormous manta rays in the Maldives, watched the humpback whales in Antarctica, para-glided in Cape Town, swam with sharks in the Galápagos Islands, and hiked Machu Picchu.Angela is very passionate about sharing her love of travel. She takes an incredible amount of pride in giving clients a personalized and meticulous travel experience, offering unparalleled service with impeccable attention to detail.Angela is a Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist for 2021 and has been featured in the Washington Post and Seattle Times.Aside from being a travel advisor, she leads yoga retreats as a certified RYT 500 yoga teacher to breathtaking destinations that she loves sharing with clients.AZA means space in Sanskrit, reflection in Swahili, strength in Hebrew, and comfort in Arabic. I hope AZA LUXURY TRAVEL will instill every aspect of these great qualities into your life.

Hi I'm Isheeta!I am passionate about making a positive impact on organizational success by aligning HR strategy with overall business, collaborating with business leaders and employees, and fostering a culture of innovation and engagement.As an experienced HR professional I have developed and implemented HR initiatives for start ups that align with the company's goals which includes designing and managing compensation structures and total rewards programs that attract and retain talent, supporting talent management activities and optimizing processes, HR policies, systems, and analytics.Always happy to chat and meet new people!

I’m an archaeologist turned tour guide, travel leader, and Founder of Merakiva Travel. For over 10 years, I traveled the world as an archaeologist, excavating ancient sites in countries like Spain, Lebanon, and Iraq. After finishing my PhD, I moved into the corporate world. In that time, I worked in marketing, product development, and strategy. That life wasn't for me so I started a tour and travel company. In it, we lead trips around the world for small groups and organize trips for independent travelers. Plus, I run Always Sunny Tour out of it. Always Sunny Tour is the only tour in the world dedicated exclusively to visiting sites from the cult-favorite show, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Now, I also post on YouTube, slowly building up an audience of people interested in archaeology and travel. I'm a storyteller who loves people (and talks to tourists on a near daily basis).

My name is Kristen and I have traveled, lived and worked all across the globe for over a decade. In 2013, after nearly a decade building a career in corporate marketing in NYC, I left it all behind to travel solo across 3 continents and 26 countries. From there I became a scuba diving instructor, and spent the next 10 years living and working in Thailand, Mexico, St. Croix and Florida. In 2017, I was voted PADI's Inspiring Woman Diver of the Year. Beginning in 2024 I joined Fora as a luxury travel planner and have launched my own travel brand and blog, Dear Destination Travel, so that I could help inspire others to make their travel dreams and goals come to life. I have now traveled to 6 continents and over 35 countries. My website, deardestinationtravel.com, is a complete travel resource and inspiration hub.

Sue Calvert is the founder of Sojourns With Sue, a travel blog and YouTube channel inspiring women over 50 to embrace solo travel with confidence, humor, and curiosity. She covers solo adventures across Europe and the U.S., with a special love for big-city energy and the charm of small-town escapes. By blending safety advice, practical tips, and a touch of wit, Sue helps midlife women discover destinations, hotels, and strategies that make traveling alone not only doable but deeply rewarding.

Hey there! I'm Jessica, the developer, photographer, and writer of The Forked Spoon. Self-taught in all fields of blogging, I received my Bachelor's degree in MCD Biology from UC Santa Cruz. After a year of traveling through SE Asia and Europe, I discovered my passion for photography, travel, and good food. You can find me around Sacramento, CA, chasing after my spirited toddler, cooking, and dreaming about my next travel adventure. The Forked Spoon is a recipe website focusing on easy, family-friendly healthy recipes. My goal, always, is to keep The Forked Spoon real and relatable. Long-term, my goal is to combine my two great loves, food and travel, into a cultural cookbook where I share my travel stories, photos, and favorite recipes from all over the world.

As the Senior Travel Writer and Content Marketer at Zicasso, I leverage my MFA in Creative Writing and over 10 years of experience in the leisure, travel, and tourism industry to create engaging and informative content that connects travelers with authentic and personalized experiences. I have established hundreds of articles, sample itineraries, bulletins, emails, blogs, and social media posts that showcase the diversity and richness of global destinations and cultures, while also developing and implementing SEO and advertising strategies that drive traffic and conversions. I manage and mentor a team of writers, researchers, and editors, and collaborate with travel partners and stakeholders to ensure quality and consistency across all platforms and channels. My passion is to build connection and trust through storytelling, and to inspire others to explore the world with curiosity and wonder.

It was 2005. I was 43 but my skin felt 20 years older. It was dry, itchy, and irritated, so when a droplet of blood fell on my work document because I had itched my elbow so hard I knew something had to change. I finally discovered exfoliating products, but there are different types, so I tried about 15-20 brands. I became like Goldilocks, the curly blond-haired girl who tried all the chairs, beds, and porridge and finally found what she liked. But, in this case, none satisfied me, so I decided to make it myself. I researched botanical oils and various exfoliants. I mixed up different combinations and tested batch after batch until I found something I loved. My late sister, Michelle, joined me and in 2006 we started ScrubzBody Skin Care Products. While it's true we sell skincare, made by hand with skin-loving ingredients, we offer our customers permission for self-love, self-care, and pampering. That's the part of the business I love the most. We have incredible retail customers, private-label clients, and select wholesale customers. We host "Make Your Own" Scrub parties for kids and adults at the store. We were thrilled to have been the highlighted business on the Season One finale of Sell it Like Serhant on Bravo TV with Ryan Serhant of Bravo and Netflix fame. Other fun things to know about me: • Since 2010, I have been published and quoted in over 125 skincare and business articles, blogs, and beauty magazines • My book, “The Power of Free Publicity, Build Relationships and Get Press Without a PR Firm.” was published in 2016 and revised in 2024. My Jot-Down Journal Series, Notes to Self, A Written Reminder That I am Unique and Amazing, and Notes to the Universe, A Place to Write It Down and Let It Go were published in August of 2024 • I was a natural remedy segment guest on the Dr. Oz show, which aired on 10/24/14, and a food-related segment guest which aired on 2/29/16 • I am a proud member of the Indie Business Network and the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce • I hiked to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2009 at 47 years old with my brother and sister • I hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in 2012 at 50 years old with my brother and friends • I fell out of a perfectly good plane for the first time at 61 years old and did it again at 62

I always believed there is something magical about travel.As a young girl, I already knew that I wanted to travel the world, to experience and learn as much as possible about the beautiful, diverse places on our planet. I choose the travel industry path because I thought that having a job within the travel industry would allow me to travel.Well, that happened, but also, so much more! Through the years I held positions such as tour manager and travel advisor, evolving later on into product development and somehow ending in B2B sales. I have experience in many sectors of the travel industry, but tour operating is (by far) my favorite. I fell in love with the development of beautiful travel packages and itineraries that are unique and special. Every itinerary I prepare, to me, is just like a painting to a painter or a book to a writer, my little work of art, a piece of magic!I still deeply believe there is something magical about traveling, the fresh perspective it gives us when we learn about different cultures, habits, and ways of life, and the acceptance that we are all different, but still the same, to me, that is the magic of travel. Now, more than ever before, as a travel agency owner I hope to inspire and help people travel a bit slower in order to have a deeper impact.The impact for the traveler will be a deeper immersion into the culture that causes a small but irreversible change within, a broader understanding of the world that creates true love and passion for life and for travel, with every new trip! The slower pace of travel also makes a deeper impact on the destinations and small businesses we support starting from small, boutique-style, authentic, family-owned hotels, to amazing service providers such as guides, drivers, entertainers, and artists... Travel should help us grow as individuals! The mixing of cultures should help us expand our views, understand better, accept, and love all the humans on this planet.

I am a copywriter with over 35 years of experience. I work with national, regional and locally owned senior living communities; leading healthcare and medical marketing firms; advertising agencies; design firms; publicists; high-tech start-ups; and scuba, travel / hospitality clients worldwide. I provide a wide range of freelance copywriting services, including: * Senior living copywriting *  Healthcare copywriting *  Medical copywriting *  Financial copywriting *  Travel copywriting *  Web sites of five to 100+ pages with SEO keywords to help people find your site online * Blog copywriting with over 2,000 blogs posted in senior living, financial, healthcare, tech, legal, and travel * Print ad campaigns * Radio / TV scripts and production *  Sales brochures * Electronic and printed newsletters * Industry case studies * Sales promotions * Direct response projects, from emails and landing pages to postcard campaigns and traditional direct mail packages. * Newspaper articles as a former Marin Independent Journal Community Columnist for Belvedere & Tiburon

Born and raised in Bhilai, Rahul Shrivastava discovered his passion for baking at an early age, crafting his first batch of cookies when he was just in seventh grade. His love for the culinary arts grew as he spent countless hours in the kitchen, experimenting with flavors and techniques. Inspired by culinary legends like Sanjeev Kapoor, Ranveer Brar, and Gordon Ramsay, Rahul's fascination with food, travel, and desserts deepened, shaping his vision for the future. After completing his postgraduate degree in MBA Finance from Savitribai Phule University, Pune, Rahul pursued his true calling as a pastry chef. He honed his skills through years of dedication and hard work, gaining valuable experience and insight into the intricacies of the food industry. Currently serving as the Pastry Chef and Founder at World of Cookies by The Sinful Love, Rahul channels his creativity and expertise into crafting exceptional desserts that push the boundaries of conventional baking. The pastry kitchen is his creative sanctuary, where he thrives on innovation, blending traditional techniques with modern trends to elevate every creation. With a relentless drive for perfection and a passion for continuous learning, Rahul is always seeking to improve and inspire, bringing his unique vision to life through every delicious dessert he creates.

Jackie Newgent, RDN, CDN, is a distinguished culinary nutrition expert and thought leader who seamlessly bridges the worlds of professional cooking and nutritional science. As a classically trained chef and registered dietitian, she has established herself as a preeminent voice in plant-forward cuisine and innovative food education. With multiple award-winning cookbooks and a robust media presence, Newgent has emerged as a highly sought-after authority in culinary nutrition and wellness. A respected industry influencer, Jackie serves on the Forbes Health advisory board and leverages her extensive expertise as a national media personality and contributor to national health platforms like U.S. News & World Report. Her professional journey includes an impressive tenure as a chef instructor at the prestigious Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Currently, she continues to shape culinary education as an instructor at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica and through her private teaching. Newgent's professional portfolio extends beyond traditional roles, serving as a nutrition coach for My Peak Challenge and a strategic culinary nutrition advisor to major food companies and emerging plant-centered businesses. Her multifaceted approach to nutrition and cooking has positioned her as a unique and influential professional who is reshaping how we understand the intersection of food, health, and sustainability. Based in Los Angeles, Jackie continues to inspire and educate through her dynamic work across media, education, and culinary innovation.