Foodie-Focused Web Presence
Great Taste Magazine is the premier connection for foodie news and events happening in Orange County, Long Beach and surrounding areas. We are considered experts in the dining scene because Great Taste has had a close relationship with local restaurants and chefs as a publication for 20 years and counting. We have an extensive calendar of events featuring restaurants in the area, as well as a news section to keep foodies in the know. Our website is a great resource and dining guide for both experienced diners and newcomers. Interested in a wine-paired dinner? Look no further than our Events Calendar. Eager to try out a new type of cuisine? Check out our Restaurants page. Of course, we also use social media to keep our followers updated on the latest trends. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Our daily posts feature new restaurants, various events, recipes from local chefs and more. We can help find the right dining experience for you because we have Great Taste!
Industry-Focused Print Magazine
Welcome to Great Taste Magazine, the premiere connection to all the key decision makers in our local Southern California restaurant industry. Each issue of our 20-year-old full-color trade publication reaches thousands of the area’s top restaurant owners, general managers, executive chefs and buyers. Take a tour through the magazine. Every magazine features local restaurants and chefs and is packed with timely information, critical operational tips and other industry news important to our readers. Industry suppliers connect with our restaurateur audience through display advertising and advertorial copy. Feature their quality products in our pages. We get our information straight from the source: restaurateurs and chefs who are working in the business right now.
Update! Even in these tough economic times, it’s clear our readers still have Great Taste! We’re happy to announce that our circulation has increased and we’d like to thank each and every one of our readers for helping make Great Taste Magazine the go-to source for Orange County restaurant information. Subscribers: Great Taste Magazine: 8,000 mailed copies are read by over 24,000. E-subscribers: Foodie Newsletter: nearing 11,000 Industry Newsletter: over 6,000. Our website is currently seeing approximately 36,000 unique visitors each month. If you’d like to join in on the fun, let us know! Email us.
Teri Williams – Editor in Chief Teri Williams has her finger on the pulse of the local hospitality industry like no one else. Eighteen years as editor and publisher of Orange County’s only hospitality trade magazine combined with her consultancy for the non-profit sector and her public relations expertise give Williams a far-reaching, varied and unique perspective of the industry. Besides her esteemed Great Taste publication, she has extensive experience in the travel industry (retail agent and wholesale), event planning and volunteerism. Williams has contacts around the globe in the restaurant, hotel, media and travel trades. She has also been applauded for her enthusiastic charity work and has chaired numerous chef, food and wine events on behalf of local non-profit organizations, for which she has helped garner more than $1 million in donations through the years. Known for her unflagging enthusiasm, entrepreneurial spirit, “can do” attitude and joie de vivre, Williams is a constant presence and authority on the OC culinary and hospitality scene.
Contributors Great Taste would not exist without our enthusiastic and generous contributors, which is why we want to turn the spotlight on them! We’ve got chefs and students, teachers and experts – so read on to meet the wonderful people that write for your pleasure. They all have Great Taste!
Chef Consultants/Writers
Chef Gabriel Caliendo – Spice Rack
Graphic Artist – Print
Photographer
Chef Contributor Voices
Chef Gabe Caliendo – Spice RackHey, I’m Gabe Caliendo, VP of Food and Beverage and Principalof The Lazy Dog Cafe and author of Great Taste’s Spice Rack column. I am a first generation American. My parents and several generations before are from Naples, Italy. I was born in Long Island, NY. I’ve also lived in Tampa Bay, Fl, but I have lived in Southern California almost all of my life – 25 years. I’ve been working with Great Taste for nearly four years. If I wasn’t cooking I would be farming. Grapes, coffee, fruits, nuts or anything else that tastes great, like honey or agave. I could see myself as a cheesemaker, brewer, or distiller as well. I could never choose one thing that I love about the hospitality industry – I enjoy creating, I love eating – I appreciate sharing with others. I have become addicted to the adrenaline of working in kitchens that are very busy….it’s a rush!
Principle Production Voices
Lisa Brink – Graphic Artist – PrintHello, I’m Lisa Brink, and I am a graphic designer, art director and founder of DesignSmorgasbord. I was born in Florence, Italy, spent my teenage years in Vancouver, B.C. and then moved down to Southern California for college. I currently live in Long Beach, CA. The first issue of Great Taste I designed was Summer 2004. Since then, the magazine has evolved and changed into a piece that I am very proud of. Working with Teri and the rest of the crew at Great Taste has always been a pleasure… and they give me total creative freedom! Now that’s hard to find! In 1996 I graduated from Art Center College of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Advertising. At that time I wanted the high power, high stress, high salary job that a creative career in advertising provides. After a few years in that industry, I ran as far and as fast as I could to the beach, took up surfing and started my own graphic design business. My life is now consists of lots of time in the water to keep my creativity flowing and many fun, exciting projects for inspiring people trying to make their mark in the world. The restaurant industry and I are a perfect fit. I was raised in Tuscany, Italy by a mother from New Orleans. So, as you can imagine, I love to eat! The bonus of having restaurant clients as that you always leave meetings with a full belly.
Michael Rutt – Photography EditorMy name is Michael Rutt and I contribute the majority of the photos featured in Great Taste Magazine. I was born in San Francisco but I was raised in England, Sweden and Malta. My specialty is food photography but I love all types of photography whether it be editorial or commercial. Food photography always presents a challenge; some things just don’t look as good in two dimensions. Overcoming that challenge is what makes this field so rewarding. I have been working with Great Taste for about five years now and I have seen it develop and grow. Orange County’s restaurant industry is constantly changing and contains a vast variety of flavors. Great Taste keeps people informed and in touch with this ever-changing service industry.
Frankie Di Iorio – Assistant to the Editor My name is Frankie Di Iorio and I have been with Great Taste for over two years. Currently, I write articles for the magazine, upload news and event posts to our website, and manage our social media accounts. What started out as an internship during college, turned into a part-time job that has allowed me to be creative while working on real job skills. I graduated from Cal State University, Long Beach with a BA in English Literature. Writing is my passion and I have always been an adventurous eater, so Great Taste has been a great place for me to broaden my culinary horizons and enhance my writing skills. As a person driven by my passion, I feel that I can really relate to all of the wonderful chefs that I have had the pleasure of interviewing. Managing our social media platforms has also allowed me to be creative on the job. I especially love that l get the scoop on all the hot dining locations in Orange County and Long Beach.
