Adriana Velez

The Path

Brigham Young University and Hunter College sit behind a career built for pace, range, and editorial control. Adriana Velez brings that training into food media as a writer and editor who works with a clipped, exacting sense of what belongs on the page and what can be cut. The result is food coverage that stays useful without losing edge. Her work has moved across major food outlets, but the throughline is editorial discipline rather than reinvention for its own sake. In roles at Thrillist, She Knows, The Spruce Eats, and The Kitchn, Adriana Velez has operated inside the practical mechanics of food publishing: shaping voice, tightening copy, and keeping the register current without flattening personality. The emphasis has stayed on clarity, speed, and a sharp read on how people actually talk about food. Since 2023, SEO Content Director of The Kitchn and Apartment Therapy has been the role Adriana Velez holds. That position asks for structure, language judgment, and a working knowledge of how digital food content needs to move. Across that span, her edit reads as plainspoken and lightly mischievous, with a clear preference for copy that is direct, legible, and not afraid to enjoy itself.

The Work Today

Senior Editor at The Spruce Eats is where Adriana Velez’s current voice stays most visible: clean, unsentimental, and not interested in decorative language for its own sake. The stance is clear in her own words: "The trend of hating on food trends. Come on, let people have their fun." That line points to a practical editorial sensibility. Food writing, in her hands, does not need to sneer at enthusiasm to sound informed. It can hold room for play, utility, and opinion at the same time. The voice is brisk because the work is brisk; it leaves out the performance and keeps the judgment.

In Their Words “The trend of hating on food trends. Come on, let people have their fun.”

Recognition

Adriana Velez has received James Beard Awards — Innovative Storytelling nomination (2020).