Most food brands hire a recipe developer, then a photographer, then spend more time coordinating the two than the content is worth.

I’m Alison Ashton, and I run Content Kitchen Food Creative, a one-person studio that does both jobs in a single workflow for food and beverage brands. The dish in the photo is the same one a home cook will really make from your recipe, and you have one person to coordinate with instead of two.

Seasoned in Food Media

As a senior food editor at Cooking Light for six years, I oversaw the development and editing of recipes for millions of readers. Since then, I’ve written for PARADE Magazine for more than five years, including 13+ cover stories featuring Martha Stewart, Padma Lakshmi, Giada De Laurentiis, Ayesha Curry, and Shaquille O’Neal. My work has also appeared in Health.com, Vegetarian Times, Natural Health, Weight Watchers, and CNN.

Editorial work taught me what makes a recipe work for home cooks: clear steps, ingredients people can find, and a result that looks like the photo and makes the cook feel like a culinary rock star. That’s the standard I bring to brand work because recipes that get cooked are products that get bought again (and again).

Trained In the Kitchen

I’m also a Cordon Bleu-trained chef, and I worked in a restaurant pastry kitchen. Food media + kitchen experience taught me the value of precision: measure carefully, test again, and keep thorough notes so the next person gets the same result. I still work that way. Every recipe I deliver is tested in a home kitchen for flavor, clarity, and reliability before it goes in front of the camera.

How I Work With Brands

• You don’t have to write the brief. Send me a product and a deadline. I research the product, the category, and your customer, then come back with three to five recipe concepts. You react and approve.
• One person, start to finish. I develop, test, style, and photograph every recipe, so there’s no separate food stylist to hire, no extra logistics to manage, and nothing lost in a handoff.
• A full asset set. Tested recipes plus hero images, lifestyle shots, step shots, and flat lays, planned for social, email, your website, retail sell sheets, and pitch decks. Visuals are based on your practical needs.
• Licensing included. Two years of usage across all owned and paid channels is built into the price. No surprise fees for web use six months later.
• Package pricing. You see the price up front. No “day rate plus expenses.”

“Knowledgeable, creative, organized, deadline- and budget-savvy, and incredibly solutions-oriented.”

— Anne Krueger, VP/Editor-in-Chief, PARADE Magazine

Brands I’ve worked with include La Tortilla Factory, Hatch Chile Co., 505 Southwestern, Palm Done Right, NOURISH Evolution, and PARADE Magazine.

See the case studies →

Based in Los Angeles, Working Nationwide

I’m based in Los Angeles and work with brands across the country. Projects start at $800. Campaigns typically book four to six weeks out.

Not ready to talk? Download the free Brand Recipe Brief →