Centralight

What else would you expect of the recently named editor of Taste of Home, America's largest food and entertainment magazine, with a circulation of more than 3.2 million? "This was a simple, delicious recipe," Ambrose says. "It doesn't take a lot of time to cook if you start with good ingredients." Solid start at CMU Perhaps the same can be said to explain her storied career that has included writing and editing for various newspapers and magazines, including the Grand Rapids Press, Better Homes and Gardens, and MasterChef. Ambrose says she started her career with a solid journalism background. She says CMU helped her develop her writing as far as the who, what, where, when, why and how. Once the groundwork was established, Ambrose fine-tuned her skills to suit the type of writing she was interested in pursuing. "Magazine writing is different from newspaper writing, but you need to have the fundamentals of writing down before you can do either of them," she says. "I developed this foundation at CMU." Jeanne (Schulz) Ambrose, '76, is making herself comfortable in the Taste of Home test kitchen. Food prep progression increased through the years, so have the types of food they're preparing. Jeanne Ambrose As the amount of information and types of experiences that are available to people have highlights some of the shifts and trends she has seen in the recipes she receives. Producing big flavors Through the increase in cooking shows people are watching on television, people are becoming more adventurous eaters and cooks, stepping outside of the recipe box to explore new flavors. Spicy ingredients such as chili peppers and hot sauces are becoming commonplace in many home kitchens. Expanding palates As people travel, they are introduced to different foods and are eager to replicate them at home. There is a growing interest in food from India and Asia, along with Mexican and Italian cuisine. Ambrose points out that her CMU journalism education is at the core of her continued success. Responding to the direction and encouragement she received from her journalism professor Stan Bradshaw, she pursued a career in news reporting and her first daily newspaper job as a features editor at Pacific Daily News in Guam. Two years later she was promoted to a health and medical writer at its sister publication in Honolulu. "Health and food go hand-in- hand," Ambrose says, explaining this eventually led to a full-time position as a food editor at Better Homes and Gardens. "At that point they had people on staff with a lot of food expertise, but they needed someone with more writing proficiency, and that's how I got into the food world." Working with and writing about food led Ambrose to develop her culinary skills, further exploring the kitchen, experimenting with foods and growing her longtime love for cooking. She soon developed recipes of her own to include in Better Homes and Gardens, and this eventually led to her Taste of Home editorship. Persistence pays Ambrose grew up in Flint, Mich., one of seven children. While her father was the cook, her mother was the family baker, and everyone tended to the family's garden and helped with canning and freezing the annual vegetable crops. Such an upbringing instilled in Ambrose a hard-work ethic and a sense of persistence that was key in securing her first newspaper job. "Persistence pays. When they didn't hire me the first time, I kept going back, and I think they may have gotten tired of me knocking on the door," she says. "Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would turn my newspaper career into a job editing for a major magazine." From the nationwide interest in food and health to the rise in food-related television programs, research is showing that the epicurean magazine industry has grown dramatically over the past decade. According to the 2010 edition of "Guide to New Magazines," such publications have ranked as the fastest growing magazine niche for three consecutive years. In addition to her magazine work, Ambrose co-authored "Heartbreak Recovery Kitchen," a cookbook which she wrote with her daughter, Lindsey. ingredients in their recipes," Ambrose says. "Magazines are a great way to provide the information they need." to spend more than 30 minutes preparing a meal and don't want more than a maximum of 10 "We know people nowadays don't want Increasing availability The growth of farmers' markets and the availability of organic, ethnic and specialty items in grocery stores, makes it easier for people to find new foods and expand their palates. Saving money It often doesn't pay to eat out. Taste of Home recently did research showing that a trip through a typical drive-thru for burgers and fries to feed a family of four costs almost double that of making the same meal at home and doesn't take a lot of time to prepare. In addition to the printed publication, Ambrose has had to develop communication skills using social media including Facebook, Twitter and cellphone applications, media that didn't exist when she attended college. "It was instilled with us all at CMU that you always need to keep up with changes in the world," she says. "The communication methods may change but because everybody eats, they'll always want to read about food, whether it's in a magazine, on a Kindle, Nook or iPad. That interest is never going away." centralight winter '11 7

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