Wine Writers’ Symposium

Mary-Frances Heck is the VP/GM of Media at Outside Inc. where she oversees adventure and endurance brands including SKI, Climbing, Backpacker, and Outside Magazine. With roots in food and service journalism, she is a James Beard and IACP award-winning author and editor. Prior to joining Outside, Mary-Frances was the senior food editor of Food & Wine and test kitchen director of Bon Appétit.

A classically trained chef and cookbook author, her bylines include The Wall Street Journal, Lucky Peach, Saveur, Eating Well, Epicurious, and others. She has consulted on F&B projects including food products, business strategy, menus, bar programs, events, kitchen operations, and cookbooks.

Mary-Frances is a graduate of Emory’s Goizueta Business School, The Culinary Institute of America, and The University of Massachusetts. Originally from Boston, she lives with her wife and children in Birmingham, AL.