Media Centre

FOOD & DRINK MAGAZINE WELCOMES NEW EDITORIAL TEAM MEMBERS

Friday, February 21, 2020 – Toronto

LCBO’s celebrated magazine, Food & Drink, is pleased to announce four additions to the editorial team. Alongside Editor-in-Chief Jody Dunn, Charlene Rooke, Eric Vellend, Suresh Doss and Victoria Walsh are already hard at work on the Summer 2020 issue, available in-store and online beginning Wednesday, June 26. The new editorial team is a continuation of a multi-phased refresh that began with the magazine’s makeover last summer.

Since launching the magazine in 1993, Food & Drink has cemented itself as the go-to guide for entertaining with impressive and easy to follow food and cocktail recipes. The magazine boasts a loyal following, with 500,000 copies quickly flying off shelves every release and over 2.3 million readers across print and over 100,000 followers on Instagram.

The new editors join Food & Drink’s roster of award-winning writers, recipe developers and creative team. The expanded team will continue to evolve the brand’s editorial content, spotlighting food, beverage, people and places from across the province, inspiring readers to celebrate all things Ontario.

Meet the Food & Drink editorial team:

Charlene Rooke, Drinks Editor

Charlene is a drinks journalist, consultant and educator and former editor at The Globe and Mail and Air Canada’s enRoute. She is a certified WSET Spirits Educator and WSET Certified in Wine, an SWE Certified Specialist of Spirits, has completed the Whisky Ambassador Programme and was trained as an artisan distiller at Moonshine University in Louisville, Kentucky.

Eric Vellend, Food Editor

Born and raised in Toronto, Eric has been a contributor to Food & Drink for the last five years. He has spent more than a decade in professional kitchens doing everything from prepping Marc Thuet’s garnish at Centro to catering events for 800 people. In 2004, he traded his knives for a laptop and embarked on a writing career that included stints as a restaurant reviewer for Toronto Life, the wine critic at The Grid, and the food editor at House & Home.

Suresh Doss, Content Editor

Suresh is an award-winning food writer and has been a contributor to The Globe and Mail, Toronto Life and former editor at Foodism and Escapism Magazine. Between over a decade of food writing and organizing food tours through the Greater Toronto Area, Suresh debuted the CBC Food Guide on CBC’s Radio Metro Morning. In 2011, Suresh was awarded the VQA Promoter’s award for outstanding achievement in the promotion of Ontario VQA wines.

Victoria Walsh, Content Editor

Victoria brings years of food industry and food editorial experience to her role. Victoria earned her chops as a writer and recipe developer while working as associate food editor at Chatelaine. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Globe and Mail, Flare, Canadian Living, Today’s Parent and many more. She has worked as a cookbook editor on Chatelaine’s Modern Classics and both Toronto Life Cooks cookbook editions. Most recently, she co-authored and styled the award-winning A Field Guide to Canadian Cocktails book published by Appetite, Random House.

The next issue of Food & Drink (Spring 2020) will be in LCBO stores and on LCBO.com March 25. Exclusive content can be found on Food & Drink’s official Instagram account @LCBOFoodandDrink.

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