About

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC.  I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City  dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.

I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV.   Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.    I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.

Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.

Aimee is a content creator and an award-winning journalist. As a freelance writer, her work is published in several publications around Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, and Montana. Aimee enjoys writing about all things art, entertainment, and food-related.

I’m Christy, I love the Oxford comma, and eating isn’t my full-time job but you’d never know it. Find me spending all my spare minutes prowling restaurants, markets, and food trucks around SLC, then filling the internet with photos and descriptions of what I love … which is just about everything. I specialize in hot and sweet—food, that is—and I’m an ardent supporter of eating local and supporting small.

Hi there! We are proud residents of Fairpark, SLC that share a passion for food and travel. Jason has been the Brewmaster at Squatter’s Downtown Pub since 2012, and Ashlee spends most of her work week breaking copy machines in law offices. (She’s also a freelance writer, having written for publications such as SLUG Magazine, Ya Burned It, and Reality Blurb.) Bickering about food is one of our favorite pastimes, so come, join us, as we sporadically share our thoughts about Utah’s burgeoning culinary scene.

Heather King: Writer and lover of delicious food and drink in Utah and around the world. Anonymous food critic and writer for The Salt Lake Tribune, The Utah Review, Devour Utah, Utah Stories and more. Runs #LadiesWhoLunchSLC.

Hey, I’m Brandon! I’m also known as the noodle whisperer, the broth sommelier, but most often as the Pho King. I grew up in the Salt Lake Valley, but spent summers in Southern California — debatably the Vietnamese food capital of America. I’ve worked in multiple restaurants, but also have a science background. I’ve even had a brief stint with NASA! I love food, dad jokes, and overthinking. I guess all of this rambling was just a natural progression.

You can find more of my blabberings on Instagram.

Valerie Phillips is an award-winning food writer and photographer at Chewandchat.com, and author of the cookbook, “Soup’s On!” She holds a Bachelor’s degree in communication from Utah State University, and honed her culinary savvy through international travels and visits to America’s Test Kitchens, the New Orleans Cooking School, Betty Crocker Kitchens, Kansas City Barbecue Society and Johnson & Wales’ culinary program. She has taught cooking at the Salt Lake Culinary Center, the Utah State Fair and the Love To Cook store, and appeared on  on “Good Things Utah,” “Studio 5,” “KUTV Noon News,” “KSL Morning News” and “The Daily Dish.”

She has judged contests from the World Championship Dutch Oven Cook-Off to the Edible Chair competition to the 4-H Green Food contest, and loved almost every minute of them.

I am a native of Toledo, Ohio, having received my Ph.D. in journalism and mass communication from Ohio University’s Scripps School of Journalism in 2002. In addition to teaching at Utah State University and the University of Utah, I have worked extensively in public relations for a variety of organizations including a major metropolitan university, college of osteopathic medicine, and community college.

When it comes to intellectual curiosity, I venture into as many areas as possible, whether it’s about music criticism, the history of journalism, the practice of public relations in a Web 2.0 world and the soon-to-arrive Web 3.0 landscape, or how public debates are formed about many issues especially in the political arena. As a Salt Lake City resident, I currently write and edit a blog called The Selective Echo that provides an entertaining, informative, and provocative look at Salt Lake City and its cosmopolitan best.

I also have been the U.S. editorial advisor for an online publication Art Design Publicity based in The Netherlands. And, I use social media tools such as Twitter for blogging, networking with journalists and experts, and staying current on the latest trends in culture and news. I also have been a regular monthly contributor to a Utah business magazine, and I have recently conducted a variety of editing projects involving authors and researchers throughout the country and the world, including Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Lebanon, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan. I’m also a classically trained musician who spent more than 15 years in a string quartet, being involved in more than 400 performances.

My name is Pete Souvall, I am a blogger and food writer from Salt Lake City. I was raised and have lived here most of my life. Though I spent years living in several different areas along the west coast I settled back in to Utah life in 2020. I’ve held several jobs in the restaurant industry including line cook, prep chef, and barista. But in general I just have a passion for everything related to food.