Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Why Do Some People Never Stop Chasing Food Stories? | Tiffany Eslick (E160)
Description
What starts with olives on a kitchen counter becomes a life built around food, travel, stories, and bringing people to the table.
Chef JKP sits down with Tiffany Eslick, content and creative director at Spinneys, food writer, podcaster, and founder of Tiff’s Table.
From climbing onto kitchen counters for olives as a child to leading content across one of the region’s most respected food brands, Tiffany shares a path shaped by risk-taking, reinvention, and an enduring obsession with ingredients, stories, and people.
At its heart, this is a conversation about craft. About writing with depth, building a point of view, trusting unexpected turns, and how food can become both profession and personal language.
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE
• Tiffany’s childhood in South Africa and the food memories that shaped her palate
• How a path once aimed at law and politics led into publishing, media and storytelling
• Lessons from Switzerland, London and learning through discomfort
• Her years in magazine publishing and building a career in travel and food journalism
• What it was like leading Etihad’s in-flight magazines and writing around the world
• How she approaches travel writing, pitching stories and finding original angles
• Why hiring people better than you can change everything as a leader
• The thinking behind Spinneys’ content ecosystem, from magazine to social to storytelling
• Why she went to Ballymaloe Cookery School and what it changed in her relationship with food
• The story behind Tiff’s Table, supper clubs, and her dream of a future culinary retreat in Greece
CHAPTERS
00:00 Childhood food memories and growing up in South Africa
08:00 Switzerland, risk taking and finding a creative path
18:00 London, publishing and early career lessons
33:00 Travel writing, Etihad and building a global editorial career
52:00 Writing craft, pitching ideas and storytelling structure
01:14:00 Spinneys, content leadership and building Nourish magazine
01:28:00 Ballymaloe and returning to school for food
01:40:00 Tiff’s Table, supper clubs and cooking as community
01:53:00 The future of food media, print and long form storytelling
02:28:00 Quick fire round and advice for aspiring writers
FOLLOW THE GUEST
Tiffany Eslick
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/tiffany_eslick/
FOLLOW CHEF JKP
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/chefjkppodcast
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-knight-paccheco-447b1b17
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@jamesknightpaccheco
PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY VALRHONA
Valrhona partners with chefs and artisans to elevate chocolate through craftsmanship, innovation, and a commitment to a more sustainable cocoa industry.
Website:
https://www.valrhona.com/en/valrhona-middle-east-africa-and-india
SUPPORT THE SHOW
Stay hydrated with the Chef JKP thermos flask.
Get yours here: https://pay.ziina.com/chefjkp/RKwVHDfpN
Follow The Chef JKP Podcast on Instagram HERE