Helena Nichols
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Expertise
Vegetarian Cooking, Baking, Spirits & Cocktails
- Helena wrote her thesis on veganism in punk rock culture.
- During 2020, she made over 300 different cocktails.
- Her whiskey chocolate caramel cake recipe won first place in a baking competition.
Experience
Helena has been a professional foodie for close to a decade. Following a lifelong love of desserts, she worked as a baker, where she honed her skills in making all things sweet. While completing her master's, she began writing about food and has never looked back. She has been published in multiple food and news outlets, including TABLE Magazine, Mashed, Tasting Table, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Helena continues to pursue her passions by trying new foods and interesting cocktails whenever she can.
Education
Helena holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from Chatham University; and a master's degree in food studies from Chatham University. Her program at Chatham provided her with a variety of hands-on food experiences, including making chocolate and brewing beer, as well as a deep knowledge of food history and culture.
Mashed’s industry-leading coverage is created by qualified and experienced writers, and is reviewed and fact-checked by our editorial team to ensure everything is accurate and timely. Outside experts are also consulted to help deliver factual, up-to-date information.
Our mission is to inform and engage our readers, telling them things they need to know, things they want to know, and things they didn't know they wanted to know about food. We strive to always provide a well-rounded reading experience, whether that’s the news of the day or a new original recipe you can try making at home. In an effort to provide the most comprehensive, current, and accurate content, our editorial team constantly reviews and updates articles as necessary. Additional information on our editorial process available here.
Stories By Helena Nichols
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Former MasterChef contender Nick DiGiovanni has returned to judge his generation. Here is what he says Gen Z lacks in the kitchen, and why it's not so bad.
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Hot Ones has released a new hot sauce-flavored vodka. We tested it out to see if it’s ready to join in on your regular rotation of spicy cocktails.
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MasterChef winner Christine Hà is in the kitchen as a judge for this season of MasterChef: Generations. We caught up with the chef for an exclusive interview.
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The iconic Lidia Bastianich makes an appearance as a guest judge on MasterChef: Generations. We caught up with her for an exclusive talk about the new season.
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We spoke with Brian Baumgartner about his new book, "Seriously Good Barbecue." He talked about his cross-country barbecue journey and shared barbecue tips.
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We spoke with Priya Krishna about the differences in how generations cook and why she thinks a Millennial will take home the "MasterChef: Generations" trophy.
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Mashed talked with Aarón Sánchez about "MasterChef: Generations" and learned some of the cooking wisdom that has been passed down through his family.
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In the days before the word "donut" existed, Anna Joralemon opened a little shop in New York City to sell "olykoeks," an affordable Dutch treat.
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Making quiche from scratch can be difficult. That is where frozen quiche comes in. We compared six frozen quiche brands to determine which ones you should buy.
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In an exclusive interview with Mashed, chef Ben Ford shares the underrated cuts of meat he loves to cook as well as some tips on the best way to prepare them.
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We tried Trader Joe's frozen pastas to see which are worth buying. While the store has a reputation for quality, not everything can be a winner.
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In an exclusive interview with Mashed, chef Ben Ford explained how his father, Harrison Ford, made his childhood favorite grilled cheese sandwich.
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In an exclusive interview with Mashed, chef Ben Ford shared his love for fonduta, a creamy, velvety, cheesy Italian take on Swiss fondue you'll want to try.
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In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Aarón Sánchez told us about two of the surprising ingredients he prefers to add to his queso fundido.
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We pitted 10 popular sriracha brands against each other to find the best one. There are many versions of sriracha out there, but only one can reign supreme.
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Looking to use an unusual ingredient to up your sandwich game? In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Owen Han advised adding a few pungent shiso leaves.
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In an exclusive interview with Mashed, chef Aarón Sánchez shares the taco trend that's on the rise: an exploration of regional variations of tacos.
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In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Owen Han shares his secret to elevating any and every sandwich: It's all in the sauce, and it all starts with mayonnaise.
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Aarón Sánchez dishes on how notorious crankpot Gordon Ramsay turns into a big softie on the "MasterChef Junior" set with daughter Tilly as one of the judges.
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In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Eric André reminisced about one of his favorite restaurants in his hometown, Boca Raton: Poppies, a New York-style deli.
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In an exclusive Mashed interview, Ben Ford spills the beans on his dad Harrison's sneaky cheat at restaurants: He samples the food on everybody else's plate.
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In an exclusive interview with Mashed, chef Aarón Sánchez tells us what to expect on the new season of "MasterChef Junior," including an exciting new judge.
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Recently, Mashed spoke with content creator, chef, and sandwich specialist, Owen Han, for an exclusive interview. Here's where he goes for burgers in LA.
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Josh Cellars provided us with a selection of its wine so we could give it an honest review. We tried 10 wines to see how they ranked against each other.
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Chef Aarón Sánchez knows tacos. That's why, when Mashed sat down with him for an exclusive interview, we had to know his favorite U.S. cities for eating tacos.
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Comedian Eric André has experienced quite a bit in the culinary realm, but nothing would have matched a meal prepared by the one and only Anthony Bourdain.
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Owen Han and Nigel Kabvina have vastly different food preparation and presentation styles -- which means that when they mix, it can lead to absolute hilarity.
