Mississippi-born Jennifer V. Cole is a writer and editor based in Birmingham, Alabama. She contributes to Esquire, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, Gravy, Travel + Leisure, The Local Palate, Punch, Modern Farmer, and more.
After graduating with honors from Auburn University with a triple major in Economics, French, and German, she made her way to New York where she worked at TIME magazine, and subsequently as an editor for Travel + Leisure. She has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, ridden elephant-back through the jungles of Thailand, and sailed on gulets over the Aegean Sea. She’s generally made it her mission to eat her way around the world, and she’ll try anything once.
Cole was the founding editor and producer of the Southern Living "Biscuits & Jam" video and concert music series. She has been named an Arkansas Traveler by the Governor and Secretary of State of Arkansas and received a proclamation from the Tennessee legislature for her work in food and music. She regularly speaks at conferences and events such as Terra Vita, BevCon, Food Media South, Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, and the Southern Food Writing Conference. Her work has been recognized by min, Folio, and the Society of American Travel Writers.
She is a biscuit-loving member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and sits on the board for Jones Valley Teaching Farm in Birmingham.
Cole speaks French, German, and Italian—and enough Dutch to get in trouble. She takes her bourbon neat.