Heather Arndt Anderson

Heather Arndt Anderson.

Title: Food Writer, Recipe Developer, and Botanist

Location: Portland, Oregon

Heather has always loved cooking. As a kid she devoured cookbooks, cooking magazines, and cooking shows like Great Chefs of the World and the Frugal Gourmet. Other than the home ec classes she took in middle school and high school, she has no formal culinary training but has nonetheless amassed decades of hands-on experience (including five years as a barista in college). Cooking is Heather's primary creative expression, and her favorite way of exploring the world.

Experience

Heather has been writing about food since 2006 and is the author of four books on culinary history. She develops and tests recipes for agricultural commissions, small food brands, and cookbooks. For ten years prior to her culinary career, she was a field biologist specializing in wetland science and plant ecology.

Heather's work has won two Outstanding Food Writing awards from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and an MFK Fisher Award from Les Dames d'Escoffier International. Her work has been quoted in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic, and she has appeared on the Splendid Table. In addition to writing and recipe development, she has consulted on two food documentary video series — Oregon Public Broadcasting's Emmy Award-winning series Superabundant (she currently writes the accompanying newsletter for the series), and Omnivorous (currently in production for Apple TV).

Education

Bachelor Science in Biology (Botany focus), Associates Degree in Forest Ecology (plus high school and middle school home economics!)

About The Spruce Eats

The Spruce Eats, a Dotdash brand, is a food and drink website offering more than 15,000 tested recipes, 1,200 how-to videos, informative articles, trustworthy product recommendations, and the inspiration to help you make your best meal. Learn more about us and our editorial process.