By Khari Douglas for Los Angeles Reporting Collective
Originally published on August 6, 2026
LARC’s 2026 Food Media Summit, “What’s Cooking in LA?” was a day dedicated how to make great stories and connect with editors. LARC’s board member Khari Douglas has the most important takeaways from the event to help you strengthen your reporting skills and learn how to connect with editors.
1. Food writing is more than just reviews.
During the summit keynote, Laurie Ochoa, general manager of food at the Los Angeles Times, and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Robert Lopez dove into food reporting that illuminates the intersectionality of food and journalism.
Ask what the story reveals about the people, systems and history around it.
For example, Robert’s 1993 story, “Pushcart Power,” examined the efforts of immigrant street vendors to legitimize their businesses as Los Angeles cracked down on unlicensed vending. In a related breakout session, food writer Tien Nguyen interviewed attorney Ritu Estes about the long campaign to legalize vending and the challenges vendors still face.
Laurie also pointed to Stephanie Breijo’s reporting on how the pandemic and Hollywood strikes affected local restaurants. That theme continued in a breakout on the economic realities facing women-owned restaurants, featuring Chef’s Table executive director Danny O’Malley, Los Taquero Mucho CEO and co-owner Silvia Garcia and Regarding Her executive director Niki Weber.
But good food writing isn’t always about deep, systemic problems. It often highlights where food can heal, like a Cindy Carcamo article about a dishwasher who says cleaning 500 dishes per shift is therapeutic. Later in the day, food writer Frank Shyong interviewed Danny Park, the founder of Skid Row People’s Market, about how a neighborhood grocery store became a community hub.
The lesson was simple: do not stop at the dish, restaurant or trend. Ask what the story reveals about the people, systems and history around it.
Explain why the story matters now.
2. Editors want to hear your pitches – if you do it right.
Outlet editors Javier Cabral (LA TACO), Mona Holmes (Eater LA), Erick Galindo (The LA Local), and Daniel Hernandez (Los Angeles Times) shared practical advice for freelancers to get their attention.
Their recommendations were consistent: Keep the pitch short. Lead with a strong headline or opening. Explain why the story matters now. Show that you understand the publication and its audience. Make clear why you are the right person to report it.
Daniel noted that editors receive dozens of pitches each day, so be patient and follow up politely if you do not hear back. Timing is everything, so Javier recommended pitching early in the day and Erick suggested pitching earlier in the year, when freelance budgets are often larger.
3. Great multimedia storytelling takes preparation and care.
The next panel answered questions about one of the most in-demand skills in today’s media: video. Hayes Davenport (LA Material) spoke with Fernando Hurtado (In The Hyphen), Antonio Diaz (Life & Thyme), and Tiffany Hinton (Black Owned Foods) about their advice for captivating visual storytelling.
Post consistently across multiple platforms to grow [your] audiences and develop flexible storytelling skills.
Antonio explained how filming inside busy restaurant kitchens requires trust and preparation. His understanding of kitchen workflows and lingo, along with clear communication, enables him to capture intimate moments. His videos in the kitchens of Lele Dinner Club and Pizzana prove the value of applying his real-world experience to his documentary work.
After years of highlighting Black-owned restaurants on Instagram, Tiffany said she wished she had expanded beyond Instagram sooner. She encouraged creators to post consistently across multiple platforms to grow their audiences and develop flexible storytelling skills.
Fernando shared a practical production tip: stop and restart recordings between scenes instead of filming continuously. That makes footage much easier to organize and edit later, giving you more time to find great stories.
Remember that the key to making your food story stand out is to focus on something that you are curious about and look beyond the obvious angle. Understand the community or system you are covering. Pitch the right editor in a concise, informed way. And if the story is visual, prepare a storyboard and shot list ahead of filming so you know what you want to capture and what role it plays in telling the story.
