Christy Jordan comes from a long line of Southern cooks. The ninth generation Alabamian publishes SouthernPlate.com, her blog dedicated to classic Southern recipes and quick and easy family favorites. Her heart is in preserving the recipes of her heritage and presenting them along with the stories of how they came about and what makes them so special. She says "the great thing about classic Southern food is that its naturally inexpensive and simple, two qualities that are just as appealing today as they were in my Grandmother's time."
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Born and raised in Alabama, Ashley Arthur has grown up in the Southern Living family. She joined the magazine as a proofreader in September 1989 after graduating from Auburn University. She spent a decade on the Southern Living Copy Desk, progressing through the ranks from copy editor to copy chief. A family relocation meant Ashley had to step away from her full-time position in June of 2000, but she remained connected to the Southern Living family in a freelance capacity. After a few years in Florida, Ashley and her family returned to their Alabama home, enabling her to rejoin the staff in March 2008. In her new role as Assistant Recipe Editor, Ashley combines her love of Southern food, her real-world experience as a wife and mom of three, and her finely honed editing skills to ensure Southern Living recipes are achievable and successful for our readers.
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Donna Florio is a senior writer at Southern Living Magazine, where she plans, writes, and edits stories, and taste-tests all the recipes that appear in the food section. In her 14 years at the magazine, she estimates she has sampled some 65,000 dishes. She's a native of Charleston, S.C. In her previous career, Donna was a seafood marketing specialist for the state of South Carolina for 20 years. Her passion for Southern food and the rich diversity of its culture has been fueled by her experiences at the magazine and her longtime membership in the Southern Foodways Alliance. Donna lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where she enjoys gathering with friends to cook and eat.
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Rebecca Kracke Gordon, Southern Living Assistant Test Kitchens Director, develops, tests, and edits recipes for Southern Living magazine. Her duties also include food styling and creative development of story concepts for the magazine. Prior to joining the Southern Living Test Kitchens, Rebecca traveled the south as an on stage presenter with the Southern Living Cooking School as a Foods and Entertaining Specialist. She's been with the company for 9 years. After graduating summa cum laude from Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina, Rebecca specialized in Baking and Pastry Arts. She received her undergraduate degree in Restaurant Management from the University of Alabama and gained extensive experience as a pastry chef for many restaurants throughout the south including renowned Frank Stitt's Highland's Bar and Grill and Bottega Restaurant. Rebecca's personal interests include gardening, entertaining, and Alabama football.
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"My career in food started at 11 years old. I used my allowance money to buy Julia Child's cookbook," says Associate Food Editor Shirley Harrington. "The first thing I made was her Bûche de Noël with spun sugar moss and meringue mushrooms. I had no fear!" So this hush puppy-loving Floridian headed west to Fort Worth, Texas, to earn a degree, gain a passion for barbecue, and teach nutrition, cooking, and interior design classes. Once she signed on for Southern Living Cooking School and eventually the Home Design Seminars, she made her home onstage. Quick estimates conclude Shirley appeared before over a quarter million people during her time representing the magazine across the South. In her Birmingham, Alabama neighborhood, she's known for hosting impromptu tasting parties of magazine recipes on her front porch.
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Norman joined Southern Living in 2007 and welcomed the Southern culture with open arms. A trained chef and Registered Dietitian, he's dedicated to sharing his nutritional and culinary expertise in an easy-to-access and understand format. He loves cooking at home, sliding his feet under a table while sharing a great meal with fantastic company. In his free time, you may find him on the tennis court, drinking too much coffee (Cuban style is his favorite), or traveling to experience the wonders of the South.
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Ashley Leath has lived all over the US, but she found her place in the South when attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The allure of this quaint college town was too much for her, and she fell in love with the color blue, college basketball, and vinegar-based barbecue. After college, Ashley found the perfect job: She mixed her love for words and editing with her passion for food as an assistant recipe editor in the Southern Living Food department. Now, she spends her days writing recipes and being fed two to three times a day by some of the best cooks in the South—not a shabby way to spend a workday at all.
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Angela Sellers started working in the test kitchen of Southern Living in 2003. Although a native of Birmingham, she relocated from New York where she worked as a freelancer with "Everyday Food" and the Food Network. As a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Angela has always known that she wanted to have a career in the food industry; mostly because she always found herself glued to the television whenever "Great Chefs" or Julia Child were on. Working in the test kitchen gives her the opportunity to test and develop recipes and provides her with the creative outlet she has always wanted.
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