Melanie Hansche is the editorial director of special projects at Food & Wine and a former restaurant owner. She’s created food and lifestyle content for 25 years across two continents and started her career in food journalism in Sydney at Australian Gourmet Traveller. She then spent eight years working for Aussie food icon Donna Hay as her magazine and cookbook editor before relocating to the U.S. in 2014. After a stint as food director at Rodale and editor in chief of Rodale’s Organic Life, she joined Food & Wine as its deputy editor in 2018. In her current role, Melanie manages editorial franchises and accolade programs like Best New Chefs and Global Tastemakers, the Best New Chef Mentorship Program, and helps spearhead the brand’s travel content.