JANET TAYLOR
MCCRACKEN
FOOD EDITOR
RECIPE DEVELOPER + TESTER
WRITER
COOKBOOK EDITOR
About
Janet Taylor McCracken has more than 25 years of experience navigating the ever-changing landscape of food publishing. She’s worked as a Food Director, Test Kitchen Manger, editor, recipe developer, and recipe tester for well-known publications and brands, including the Los Angeles Times, Bon Appétit, The New York Times, Rachael Ray Every Day, Food & Wine, Weight Watchers, and Hello Fresh. She has a lifelong love of food and cooking and loves to share her experience, expertise, and enthusiasm to help home cooks make their lives more delicious. She’s passionate about sharing love and culture through food and creating delicious, reliable, well-written recipes that help people feel more confident in the kitchen.
Work Experience
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January 2022-present
Has written stories, edited and tested recipes for Food & Wine, The New York Times, Outside, and thekitchn
Recipe editor for HelloFresh
Recipe Developer for Rachael Ray In Season
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April 2021-January 2022
Worked with the Food & Wine YouTube team to ensure the recipes match Chef at Home videos
Tested chef recipes from videos; worked with chefs to ensure accuracy
Participated in video shoots as needed
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February 2020-April 2021
Worked with the Cookbook team at WW to create new content for cookbooks.
Closely involved with editing assigned cookbooks, conceiving titles, and following the books through editorial routing, including writing copy for the Front of Book and copy fitting
Worked with recipe developers to create new cookbooks, helping to conceive table of contents, write headnotes, and work to help keep recipes within WW guidelines.
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November 2018-October 2019
Worked with the Meredith test kitchen hub in Birmingham Alabama to ensure recipes were well tested
Closely involved with recipe editing as stories followed along through editorial routing. Expert copy fitting skills
Worked closely with the executive team to conceive and develop themes for each issue, and develop the stories throughout each issue
Conceived and assigned stories, then worked with writers, editors, and testers to bring to the printed page
Covered photo shoots to ensure the recipes were accurately represented
Created delicious, on-brand recipes for monthly columns and well stories. Work closely with the Executive team to develop compelling cover recipes
Represented the magazine at conferences and other media events
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November 2013–November 2018
Managed the test kitchen staff to ensure recipe development was creative and on brand.
Worked with the team to make any adjustments to recipes to be sure they were delicious, accurate, and efficient
Worked to ensure recipes were written clearly for reader success
Closely involved with recipe editing as stories followed along through editorial routing
Worked closely with the executive team to conceive and develop themes and stories throughout the magazine
Created delicious, on-brand recipes for monthly columns and well stories. Work closely with the Executive team to develop compelling cover recipes.
Attended photo shoots to ensure food is correctly represented
Represented the magazine at conferences, on live television, FaceBook Live, cooking demonstrations, and other media events
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February 2011–March 2013
Conceived and assigned stories, worked with writers, editors, and testers to bring stories to the printed page
Attended photo shoots to ensure food was correctly represented
Helped manage recipe testing, contributed at tastings to help fix flawed recipes
Wrote numerous blog posts for bonappetit.com
Wrote tested recipes in house style; collaborated to help refine house style; wrote most recipe head notes and occasional sidebars
Closely involved with recipe editing as stories followed along through editorial routing
Participated in videos for the promotion of a line of Bon Appétit cookware on HSN
Taught cooking classes and represented Bon Appétit at media events
Developed interesting, delicious recipes for the magazine, from simple weeknight cooking in the Fast Easy Fresh column to the more complex well stories
Highly involved in the writing and editing of The Grilling Book
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January 2003–February 2011
Expert recipe tester and editor. Wrote headnotes and sidebars for recipes.
Developed easy and delicious recipes for the Fast Easy Fresh column
Wrote and edited recipes, head notes, and introductory chapters for The Bon Appétit Cookbook, The Bon Appétit Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook, and Bon Appétit Desserts; wrote the Party Planning Guide for Bon Appétit Celebrations Deck
Wrote feature articles with recipes; contributed throughout the editorial process; copy-fit recipes as needed
Wrote blog posts and features for bonappetit.com
Compiled ingredient and technique links for the launch of bonappetit.com
Performed live cooking demonstrations to promote Bon Appétit cookbooks including a book tour through Texas and parts of California, two Los Angeles Times Book Festivals, the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show, and BookExpo
Performed live and taped cooking demonstrations for local television stations
Participated in Bon Appétit Focus events
Judged cooking competitions with both local and celebrity chefs
Demonstrated cooking techniques for video podcasts and contributed to audio podcasts on bonappetit.com
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2009 - Ghost recipe developer: Developed 50 grill recipes for celebrity chef.
2000–2003 - Wrote stories and developed recipes for feature articles in the Los Angeles Times Food Section, Food.com, West Hartford Magazine, and Saveur; assisted in producing Quick Fix online videos for the Los Angeles Times website
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1998–1999
Wrote articles and developed recipes for cover stories and weekly columns; filled in as substitute test kitchen chef
Intern from 1997–1998
Tested recipes for publication; worked as food stylist for photography; wrote and developed recipes for feature articles and weekly columns
Volunteer activity
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September 2018 - present
Served 2 years on the board, then 2 years as Vice President. Co-chaired the Scholarship and Mentorship Committee,
2020, served on Scholarship committee 2019-2020, and 2022 to present. Co-chair
Mentorship committee 2022 to present. Chair for Sponsors for The Next Big Bite.
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Taught classes on how to write better recipes at 2015, 2016, and 2017 IACP annual convention.
Taught a workshop at the 2018 IACP annual convention on “A Day in the Meredith Test Kitchen”.
Ran a panel discussion at the 2019 IACP annual convention on how to develop delicious and original recipes. Ran a Zoom panel discussion on Baking in 2020.
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Judge for 2016 Bert Greene awards IACP