Amy Barnes

Title: Food Writer and Recipe Developer

Expertise: Southern and Midwestern cuisine, baking, canning, and preserving

Amy Barnes left Midwestern bierocks and cheese curds behind when she moved to the South. From watching "The Great British Baking Show" to writing about regional dishes, she's passionate about discovering new foods, searching shelves for old favorites, and cooking for her family. You can often find her writing with a glass of fruit tea in one hand and a copy of "Gone With the Wind" in the other. When she's not out exploring food, she cooks for her family in Southern suburbia. They don’t enjoy odd foods as much as she does, especially at dinner.

Highlights

25 years of food writing and recipe developing experience
International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) 2020 cookbook judge
Contributor to McSweeney’s "Reviews of New Foods" columns

Experience

Amy is fascinated by odd foods, limited-edition products, regional specialties, and hyper-local favorites with a heightened radar for all quirky foods. She has written for a wide range of publications, including Chowhound, Forbes, Farm Flavor, TN Home and Farm, Neighborhoods, Apartment Therapy, Fodor's Travel, Allrecipes, Relish, Realtor.com, Well+Good and Simplemost. Her McSweeney’s "Reviews of New Foods" columns add a pinch of satire and storytelling to food writing, while visits to the Golden Flake and Blue Bell factories took her even further into new food worlds.

Education

Amy holds a B.A. from Wichita State University. She has 25 years of freelance writing experience, with focus on food, family, travel, and lifestyle. She is also a recipe developer and tester for Relish and was a 2020 cookbook judge for the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).

About The Spruce Eats

The Spruce Eats, a Dotdash brand, is a food and drink website offering more than 15,000 tested recipes, 1,200 how-to videos, informative articles, trustworthy product recommendations, and the inspiration to help you make your best meal. Learn more about us and our editorial process.