Ryan Jennings is a hedonist. For him, it’s the pure joy of good food and good friends that feed his habit. He’s what people call a professional foodie and lives to eat, drink and entertain. He has an insatiable drive to share his joy with the world.

He writes about the pleasure of eating and entertaining in his column “Ask a Foodie” for 2: The Magazine for Couples and advises readers on where best to spend their dining dollars as a regular critic for Toronto Life’s restaurant reviews.

He makes consumers drool by working his food styling skills for clients such as Timothy’s, Kraft and Toberlone and he designs custom cocktails for private parties and corporate clients alike. Add to this the fact that he’s the author of the bestselling cookbook, Cooking with Booze (Whitecap 2006) and the newly released and much anticipated follow up, Entertaining with Booze (Whitecap 2008) and it’s evident that he really does live to eat and drink!

Born in Hamilton, Ontario and raised in a small town, his passion for food was sparked as a child in his mother’s kitchen, where she taught him the delicate art of making pastry, cakes and cookies. It’s funny, Ryan’s career in food started without him realizing! While at Ryerson University, where he studied journalism, he also attended the Bartending School of Ontario and discovered another passion—that for mixing and designing drinks. As a server in restaurants and positions for some of Toronto’s finest caterers, Ryan developed an expert knowledge of how great food should look and taste. This experience led to working as food editor for the fashion magazine ELLE Canada.  His experience, combined with his interests in interior design, gardening and travel combine to create his unique brand of style, which is apparent in his recipes, columns, restaurant reviews and table-scapes.