Announcing 5280’s New Food Editor, Denise Mickelsen

Twenty years at 5280. Twelve as the voice of the magazine’s food coverage. It’s safe to say that Amanda M. Faison’s commitment to both 5280 and Denver’s food scene is something to be celebrated. It’s also safe to say that you don’t simply replace Amanda, who announced in August that she’s leaving the magazine to relocate to the mountains with her family.

And yet: Denver’s food scene is growing like never before, and we will continue to cover it vigorously, both online and in print. So I’m delighted to announce that Denise Mickelsen will join 5280 as food editor and shepherd our food, drink, and dining coverage.

Denise’s resumé is, in a word, sterling. She holds a bachelor’s in history from the University of Dayton and has a culinary arts degree from the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City. After leaving ICE, Denise cooked in two renowned New York restaurants, Blue Hill NYC and Fleur de Sel (where, in a strange bit of cosmic serendipity, she was working when I dined there years ago). After securing that real-world restaurant experience, Denise moved to food journalism: She’s done stints at Saveur, Martha Stewart Living, and Fine Cooking magazines.

A couple of years ago, Denise joined Craftsy here in Denver, where she’s overseen instructional cooking and baking videos. At Craftsy, Denise edited a video titled “Indian Curries: The Basics & Beyond,” taught by Raghavan Iyer, which won a James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Award this year.

Denise will start at 5280 on November 2, and I am happy to report that Amanda will continue to contribute both food and non-food stories to the magazine and 5280.com from her new home base in Summit County. And after Amanda departs to start this next chapter of her life, I’m confident that Denise will expertly carry on the tradition and standards of food and dining coverage 5280 readers have come to expect.