Portfolio

Jessica is available for freelance assignments; please consult the contact page.

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AFAR magazine

The Last Straw: How the Travel Industry is Phasing Out Plastic 2018 Businesses across the travel industry agree: It’s time to rethink plastic.

An Oyster Lover’s Guide to Ireland 2017 There are 18,000 bags in the waters of Ballinakill Bay, home to Connemara Oysters, a farm that started offering tours in 2017.

A Winemaker’s Map of Piemonte 2017 Michele Chiarlo — the acclaimed winemaker who has witnessed 61 vintages — shares his picks for where to eat, drink, wander, and taste Piedmont’s famed white truffles.

The Late Night Secrets Ireland’s Pubs Don’t Want You to Know About 2016 Detailing the cheeky, illegal, but somewhat common tradition of the lock-in.

A Rare Peek Inside Basque Country’s Members-Only Gastronomic Societies 2016 A glimpse behind the doors of these clubs that celebrate food, community, and conversation.

How to Take an Italian Road Trip 2015 A European road trip isn’t all rainbows and blissfully open roads — but it can be, with a little planning.

What I Learned During the Honey Harvest in Portland 2015 Drizzled on fried chicken. A final flourish to a peanut butter and banana sandwich. A next-level glaze on meats. Once I got the beekeepers of Bee Local talking about their favorite uses for honey, there seemed to be no end to its potential.

A Slice of Life: Ireland’s Classic Brown Bread 2014 Fresh from the oven, sliced thick, slathered in salted Irish butter, brown bread soothes with its unfussy nourishment.

AFAR contributor page

The New York Times

In The Home of Guinness, a Cocktail Boom Takes Hold 2019 Dublin has long been a beer and whiskey town. For generations pubs poured the same pints of stout and familiar bottles of whiskey, but in recent years a shift has shaken the local drinking scene. A new type of bar — focused on craft cocktails and often showcasing the mixing potential of Irish spirits — is steadily gaining popularity.

In Piemonte, Raising a Glass with Less Fuss 2018 Wine shops with a handful of tables — informal places that locals frequent for lunch or a bite before a late dinner — now have shelves that are packed with the region’s best wines at retail prices, not the pronounced markup found in many restaurants.

Will U.S. Withdrawal from Unesco Affect Heritage Sites? 2018 The World Heritage program, which began in 1972, includes a list of 1,073 sites “that are of outstanding universal value to humanity,” and should therefore “be protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.” What will happen if the U.S. withdraws?

Keeping the Fire of Irish Lighthouses Alive 2016 Connections to my Irish family normally provide a reason to visit obscure graveyards and quiet country towns not on most guidebook maps, but for this trip, two lighthouses in County Mayo and County Donegal would guide the way.

In Portland, A Warm Embrace of Tango 2016 One look with sustained eye contact (“cabeceo”) was a mutual agreement to dance. Within moments of arrival, dancers were locked in a cheek-to-cheek embrace, gliding to the music.

In George V Show, Benson Meets the Beatles 2014 “I got the call late at night in London,” Mr. Benson said during an interview in New York. “They wanted me to go to Paris in the morning with the Beatles.”

A Dublin Neighborhood Pushes Its Boundaries 2013 The cobbled quarter of Temple Bar has long maintained its tourist-destination status with overpriced pints of Guinness and a reputation for wild bachelor parties. While these traits endure, entrepreneurs have begun to reclaim the historic streets flanking the south side of the River Liffey.

Saveur

The Oyster Poachers of Connemara 2017 In Ireland, few things are black and white, especially the law — and the tales of men who break it to dive for treasure under the cover of darkness.

The Daily Beast

It’s Still a Big World: Augusta, Georgia 2019 I set out to experience the pace of Augusta once the caviar and Champagne were finished and the dust of the Masters Tournament settled. What did the locals get up to when the tournament was over and the crowds went home?

Bon Appetit

When to Order the Chicken? 2016 The perfect chicken dish requires time, attention, and care. Could it be that chicken is the true test of a restaurant’s caliber, a symbol of the pride of a kitchen?

What Does Dave Matthews Eat for Breakfast? 2014 In this My Morning Routine column Dave Matthews details how he kickstarts his day.

Feast of the Seven Fishes Advice 2013 For those of us that began the heart of the Christmas season scrubbing mussels or stuffing clams while still in our pajamas, it is a beloved tradition, garlic-scented fingers and all.

Know Your Butcher 2013 You may already request pork chops cut 2 inches thick or prefer your lamb rib roast Frenched—but that isn’t all the mighty butcher can do with his (or, ever more frequently, her) cleaver.

How to Take Your Oyster Slurping to the Next Level 2013 Many of us share a love for oysters, washing the briny bivalves down with a glass of champagne or pint of stout. But how many of us sink our teeth into the oyster meat, chewing to release the flavor? Do we even know what we like when it comes to oysters?

TASTE

Brown Bread is the Spine of Ireland 2017 How a breakfast obsession evolved into an any time of day cure-all.

Financial Times

Spirited Away: Mezcal at the Source 2016 Cocktails were my introduction to mezcal, and it only took a handful of mezcal negronis and mezcal old-fashioneds before I booked a ticket to Oaxaca. I wanted to see how mezcal is made, to smell the smoke, to taste this spirit hot off the still.

Conde Nast Traveler

Real Balsamic is Rarer Than You Think 2017 In a corner of Italy, aromatic attics are full of barrels where balsamic vinegar ages over decades.

The Best Salt in the World Comes from Wales 2017 The first step in making Halen Mon’s exceptional sea salt is to follow the seahorses.

Palm Springs Life

Tastes Like the Desert 2019 Where the American cook, television personality, and cookbook author once lived and entertained, the not-for-profit James Beard Foundation now regularly invites chefs to visit, cook, collaborate, and share ideas through dinner parties that are open to the public.

Wall Street Journal Magazine

Pairings That Pop 2014 Creative champagne pairings from fried chicken to onion rings to ice cream sundaes.

Extra Crispy

An Introduction to the Early House: 2017 Where to find pints in Dublin at 7am

Worth magazine

Atlanta as a National Culinary Destination 2016

World Hum

Hands Like Shovels 2013 In the far western reaches of Ireland, an exploration on how another country mourns their dead.

Catching the Gist 2012 How to communicate when you don’t speak the language? In Italy, fumbling towards an answer.

Vice

These Brothers Are Trying to Revolutionize Irish Whiskey 2016

b inspired (Brussels Airlines in flight magazine)

Bites Out in the Big Apple 2017 An anti-restaurant guide to New York City featuring markets, food halls, hybrid shops, and more.

What Does It Take to Make a Sweet Go Viral? 2016 A profile of Sugarfina co-founder Rosie O’Neill, who created a luxury candy store for grown-ups.

Tasting Table

Stock Tips 2014 An Investigation into Veal Stock

The New Age of Bolognese 2014 The classic Italian meat sauce gets a cheffy revamp.

Blackboard Eats

Highlands

Conrad magazine

The Look of the Irish 2016

BBC Travel

The Secret to Uncertainty 2018

Dublin’s Chilly Tradition 2012

Toronto Star

Long Live the Greeks 2012 How do the Greeks live such long, healthy lives? What are the secrets to weight control and living to a ripe old age? While I was interested to see all the work that goes into a single bottle of olive oil, my real curiosity was about the Greeks themselves.

Getting My Hands Dirty in Deutschland 2011 I kept following the scent, hoping it would grow stronger. Towards the village, it began to intensify, saturating my nostrils. I couldn’t identify the unfamiliar scent, but its luster drew me straight to an open door.

San Francisco Chronicle

Danish Word Hyggeligt Defies Translation 2013 “The fish have to swim,” I’m instructed as a glass of schnapps is placed in my hand. It’s lunchtime in Copenhagen, and apparently the fish atop rye bread I just gobbled down need to “swim”. So I must drink.

Ireland Surprise: Skinny Dipping in the Ocean 2012 Of all the tall tales told that rainy afternoon, the story of the swimming holes lingered. Who would be crazy enough to get into the water? And in Ireland — a heavily Catholic country known for modesty — who exactly is stripping down for a dip in full view of the public?

Food & Wine

Best Chili in the US 2013 Chili has so many regional iterations, and each version comes with its own cult following. Is it best with beef or chicken? Green chiles or red? Vegetarian or bean-free Texas-style?

New York magazine

Taste Cartagena’s New Culinary Wave 2013 link

Go Artisanal in Bristol, Rhode Island 2013 link

Slurp Oysters on Virginia’s Eastern Shore 2013 link

See the Contemporary Side of Dublin 2011 link

Departures