fiona Sims
Fiona Sims is a food, drink and travel writer with nearly 20 years experience of writing for the UK's top newspapers and magazines.
* after completing an Art History degree, she spent five years in the art world before ending up at her favourite consumer food and drink magazine Taste. After three years on staff she took a year long break for a trip around the globe before returning home to Inside Hotels magazine as deputy editor. She took her Higher Certificate of Wine, and studied for her Diploma of Wines & Spirits, later moving to an editing and writing position at publishing behemoth Reed Elsevier on its flagship title, leading hospitality weekly, Caterer & Hotelkeeper, before going freelance. She now divides her time between her home office (a hut at the end of her garden) and travelling the globe.
* has written for many different magazines and newspapers, including The Times, The Guardian, The Observer, Delicious, House & Garden, High Life, Decanter, Caterer & Hotelkeeper and Square Meal.
* has extensive editing and commissioning experience, including recent projects editing a book for Rolls-Royce and the best-selling The Illustrated Royal Weddings magazine, commissioning some of the country's top journalists in food, drink, travel and leisure.
* has written two books, Guide to Wine (Parragon) and Wine Made Simple (Marks & Spencer).
* has interviewed many of the world's top chefs, food and drink personalities and hoteliers, including Charlie Trotter, Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal, Pierre Gagnaire, Ferran Adrià and Elena Arzak.
* has travelled to top restaurants with many of the world's most famous chefs - accompanying Heston Blumenthal on his first trip to the legendary El Bulli in Spain and visiting The French Laundry in Napa, California, with Jason Atherton.
* you can read about some of her jaunts in recent articles through the links below, from discovering the secrets of kimchi and hanging out with Angela Hartnett in South Africa's wine country for British Airway's High Life magazine, to grubbing around in top chefs' kitchen gardens and shooting birds out of the sky for The Times, as well as many other stories from celebrating how jelly has made a comeback, to consulting the Queen of Rations, Marguerite Patten, on what to do with leftovers, and not forgetting her crash course on making croissants for The Guardian. On the wine front, she explores the mysteries of natural wine for Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine and the best spots around the world for dining in wine cellars for Decanter, where she gets a little starstruck while interviewing her favourite author William Boyd.
Contact
Skills
Feature writing (including food-related travel features), 'opinion' and other topical columns, editing and commissioning, trendspotting, interviews with chefs and food producers, winemakers and distillers, restaurant reviews, recipe development (food & cocktails), recipe editing, matching food and wine, beer and other drinks, conducting tastings, copywriting. Excellent contacts in the food, drink and travel world.
