Brian Hogan Stewart brings to the table over a decade of experience leading media relations and storytelling efforts for culinary clients, news outlets, and advocacy organizations. A former journalist, Brian is a cookbook-obsessed, once-budding chef who skipped culinary school to pursue a career in communications, and he’s been bridging the gap ever since.
He is the host and creator of Salt + Spine, the top-ranked podcast on stories behind cookbooks and what the Irish Times called a “more imaginative take on the cookery podcast.” On the show, Brian interviews leading authors, chefs, and activists. He’s held in-depth interviews with 200 authors, including Nigella Lawson, Samin Nosrat, Jacques Pépin, Diana Henry, Rose Levy Beranbaum, Toni Tipton-Martin, Julia Turshen, Yotam Ottolenghi, and Carla Hall. His podcasting work has been recognized by the Cook Awards (from Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera) and the Taste Awards.
Over his career, Brian has provided public relations, branding, marketing, and social media services to a range of culinary and corporate clients, including the James Beard Foundation, San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace, the MINA Group, and New Belgium Brewing. He has served as part of the senior leadership of top hospitality agencies bread & Butter and af&co.
Brian also has extensive experience in political and non-profit communications. He built an internal media relations operation for the 10-million-member advocacy group MoveOn.org and led communications for Generation Progress, the youth engagement arm of the Center for American Progress. He has also advised on external communications for Young Invincibles and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. He has also worked at The Daily Iowan, the Student Press Law Center, as a high school debate coach, and at an ice cream shop.
Brian has been published in or quoted by The New Yorker, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, U.S. News & World Report, ABC News, and, most uniquely, ESPN’s “College GameDay.” He has served as a judge for both the Good Food Awards and the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ annual awards.
In his free time, Brian has volunteered with Sprouts Cooking Club, Martha’s Table, and the Iowa Children’s Museum. A native of Iowa and a proud alumnus of the University of Iowa, his vices include all Midwest baked goods (especially scotcheroos and puppy chow).
