Executive Food Editor Scott Jones joined Southern Living in July of 1999, and is the first man--in the 41-year history of the magazine--to work in the Food department. Scott left a career in the motion picture industry to pursue his love of food and wine. Indoing so, he completed a Culinary Arts degree at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, where he graduated with honors. Scott has also received awards from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (I.A.C.P.) and The James Beard Foundation. In addition, he holds a degree in Magazine Publishing and Journalism from the University of Mississippi, and is the author of the Southern Living Wine Guide and Journal.
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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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Assistant Food Editor with Southern Living for 2 1/2 years. Formerly a Senior Quality Assurance Analysts for a major software company. I decided to change careers and pursued an Associates degree in Pastry Arts and Confections from Culinard. I worked full time and went to school at night. It just about killed me, but I did it and never regretted the decision. I am the editor of "What's for Supper?" column and this relates to me directly because I am a working mom with a husband and 2 active daughters. Baking is my true passion. When I have time during the week and just about every weekend, I continue to work on perfecting different flavor profiles on cakes, cupcakes and pies.
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Marian first appeared in the pages of Southern Living magazine at the ripe old age of 8 holding a homemade popsicle made in a dixie cup. Fast forward a few decades later and you will find her testing recipes and food styling within the Southern Living Test Kitchens. With a background in fine art photography she decided to follow in the footsteps of her mother, former test kitchen alumni, and attend culinary school. She is a graduate of Texas Culinary Academy in Austin with a degree in Culinary Arts. She is the resident dinner party guru and aspiring beer nerd on staff. Her favorite southern foods are okra, breakfast tacos, and pretty much anything that involves pork.
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South Louisiana native Kristi Michele Crowe developed her culinary roots at an early age cooking alongside her mother. From sauce piquant to Boudreax bread, Kristi's fascination with the art and science of food led her on a culinary journey culminating in a Doctorate degree in food chemistry and nutrition from the University of Maine. Kristi left a career in sustainable agriculture research and food product development to join the food staff of Southern Living in 2007. As the solo food chemist, Kristi embraces the complexity and creativity of food through recipe testing and development and investigating old wives tales on food science and cooking to share with readers. Her motto – kitchen science is where flavor begins! Beyond the pages of print, Kristi shares her passion for culinary chemistry as a Food Science Ambassador with the Institute of Food Technologists volunteering in local high schools to introduce students to science through food.
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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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Marion McGahey grew up in the South, where the kitchen was the beating heart of her family's home. She has enthusiastically pursued a food writing career since early childhood. At twenty-seven, Marion has successfully combined her Vanderbilt University degree in creative writing with a Le Cordon Bleu culinary degree and is pursuing her life long fascination with the art of food and entertaining. Having worked at several magazines, the Food Network kitchens, and under the tutelage of Chef Mark Paul, at Wink Restaurant in Austin, Texas, she has returned home to Birmingham in 2006 to unite her two passions, writing and food, as a food editor for Southern Living Magazine.
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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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