CoolStuff.nyc

How did your career as a NYT Cooking food editor begin? I often think of each step in my career as stamping out a desire path; getting from where I started, in sports journalism, to where I am now, in food media, has made sense to me along the way. But to others they might think, well, who would walk that way? I went to journalism school. I studied broadcasting. I thought I’d become a sideline reporter on ESPN. But then one day I just … changed my mind.

‍ How did your career as a baker begin? I was born and raised in Poland, a country with an incredible baking culture. Bakeries are everywhere, fresh pastries are part of everyday life, and homemade baking is deeply woven into family traditions. Every weekend my grandmother baked for the whole family, and my parents baked too because where I grew up, homemade was always better. Polish baking is also wonderfully complex. It isn't about shortcuts or three-ingredient recipes.

GUIDES By Coolstuff Team • September 4, 2026 In the heart of downtown Manhattan, SoHo and Nolita encapsulate many things. Art, dining, music, and fashion all have a rich web of history interwoven with the neighborhood's identity, even as it’s evolved from a collection of factories and artist lofts to a luxury shopping mecca. Our guide pulls together our favorite picks that cobble together all the pieces that make this part of the city continually exciting to visit.

‍ How did your career in the music industry begin? I had a blog when I was really young, and I interviewed indie bands over email and wrote about new albums and MP3s. All through high school and college, I kept blogging and took writing gigs whenever I could. At the same time, I was writing songs and playing in bands and meeting friends who were as passionate as I was about music.

How did your career as an entrepreneur begin? ‍Nobody would hire me…so it just had to happen. Out of college, I started a clothing brand called SWOBO that operated on the fringes of bicycle enthusiasts. It was quite the experience and we made a large splash in bicycle culture. I also built a brand strategy consultancy over the years, and now there’s Caddis. I’ve always felt “safer” designing my own employment rather than being employed by others.

‍ How did your career as a chef begin? I originally started doing a popup series called Yooeating around bars in Brooklyn, as a side hobby alongside my full-time job as a photo producer at Food Network. Each popup had a different theme of either exploring other cultural cuisines through the lens of Korean food (like Vietnamese x Korean or Cuban x Korean, or focussing on unique aspects of the Korean food I grew up with (like drinking food, after school food, or cold noodles).

GUIDES By Coolstuff Team • August 14, 2026 Savannah is a very special place for team coolstuff, and that’s part of why it has taken us so many years to write a guide to this magical, creative pocket of the South. Anna grew up right in Savannah, and both she and Garrett attended the Savannah College of Art and Design. The presence of SCAD can be felt all around the city.

How did your career in fashion begin? How has your 30+ year fashion background informed how you design today? At the start of my career, I spent seven years working at Theory with Andrew Rosen. That's where I learned the fundamentals of fabric, fit, merchandising, and how to create a modern wardrobe for women. Partnering with Andrew again in TWP feels incredibly full-circle.

How did your career as a baker begin? Standing on a stepstool and stirring a boxed brownie mix, in my parents’ kitchen! I’ve been a lifelong baker, but began baking “semi-professionally” when I started selling cakes out of my college apartment as a side-hustle in 2021. I learned a lot on the fly, but had also been pretty intensely recipe developing and self-teaching for my entire life. I’ve always just known that I love feeding people and baking.

How did your career as a travel advisor & editor begin? I still don’t really think of myself so much as a travel advisor, the team at my company PRIOR are frankly better than me at that but I guess my interest in travel came initially from an interest in food. I was a cook for a brief second then studied at the Slow Food University in Italy before working for Alice Waters which brought me to the US.