Kate Heddings

Title: Deputy Food Editor

At Food & Wine since: 2000

Born and Raised: New York City

Background: After deciding that I wanted to work in food publishing, I attended The French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and started freelancing in various magazine test kitchens (Saveur, Martha Stewart Living). Eventually, I wound up in cookbook editing (William Morrow, Artisan).

What I Do at Food & Wine: I produce/edit food features as well as a few columns: Fast, Chefs Recipes Made Easy and Last Bite. I also edit two Food & Wine books: The Annual and The Best of the Best.

My favorite thing about my job: The Test Kitchen. It makes me extremely happy to walk in there every day to see what delicious—and sometimes not so delicious—things are cooking.

Food obsession: Sweets. In particular I love baked goods like brownies, blondies and cookies. I also love crabs.

Three things I really don't like: Saffron, raw onions and cooked carrots.

Ideal Eating Day: Dim sum in Chinatown, lunch in Koreatown and family-style Italian for dinner. And dessert between each meal.