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.
-
Hershey's introduces a new variety of its Reese's Peanut Butter Cup just in time for Valentine's Day. See what we thought after tasting the red velvet variety.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Kraft Mac and Cheese is a staple meal for many of us. So when we heard Kraft Mac and Cheese was releasing an Everything Bagel flavor, we had to try it.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Kitchen
By Helena Nichols
Both Barilla and Garofalo are major Italian pasta brands, but which is better? We tried several pasta products to find out, with multiple factors in mind.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Restaurants
By Helena Nichols
A buffet of Golden Corral's size can be intimidating, but with these extra tips, we can help you make the most of any trip to the restaurant.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Restaurants
By Helena Nichols
Golden Corral buffet features dozens of desserts to add to your plate. We tried a wide variety to give you the scoop on which dessert to eat and which to skip.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Restaurants
By Helena Nichols
It's spooky, it's kooky, it's a lot of sugar ... it's the 2024 Applebee's Halloween drink menu review. Come along as we rank these bewitching beverages.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Frozen pizza is an easy meal for busy weeknights, but it's worth finding out if you're getting the best value for your dollar. Find out if Aldi or Walmart wins.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Grocery
By Helena Nichols
I have pitted Costco food court soft serve ice cream and Sam's Club café soft serve frozen yogurt against each other in the ultimate battle.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Auntie Anne's was once the pretzel-slinging darling of the mall. But it's faced a rise, fall, and resurgence that may surprise you with many twists and turns.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Kitchen
By Helena Nichols
Forget about boiled, scrambled, or poached, we’ve rounded up some of the more unusual ways to cook eggs that you probably haven’t tried yet.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Kitchen
By Helena Nichols
Is there anything Dolly Parton can't do? We picked up all of the Dolly branded Duncan Hines baking mixes to see if any are worth tumbling out of bed for.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Exclusives
By Helena Nichols
Competitive eating legend Joey Chestnut opens up about his ban from the Nathan's hot dog eating contest, his rivalry with Kobayashi, and more.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Grocery
By Helena Nichols
Pound Cake is a simple confection, but it is surprisingly easy to get wrong. We taste-tested some store-bought pound cakes and have ranked them worst to best.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Kitchen
By Helena Nichols
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.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Kitchen
By Helena Nichols
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.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Exclusives
By Helena Nichols
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.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Exclusives
By Helena Nichols
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.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Kitchen
By Helena Nichols
We spoke with Brian Baumgartner about his new book, "Seriously Good Barbecue." He talked about his cross-country barbecue journey and shared barbecue tips.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Exclusives
By Helena Nichols
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.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Exclusives
By Helena Nichols
Mashed talked with Aarón Sánchez about "MasterChef: Generations" and learned some of the cooking wisdom that has been passed down through his family.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Kitchen
By Helena Nichols
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.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Exclusives
By Helena Nichols
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.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Entertainment
By Helena Nichols
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.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Exclusives
By Helena Nichols
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.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Entertainment
By Helena Nichols
In an exclusive interview with Mashed, chef Ben Ford explained how his father, Harrison Ford, made his childhood favorite grilled cheese sandwich.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Entertainment
By Helena Nichols
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.
By Helena Nichols
Read More
-
Entertainment
By Helena Nichols
In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Aarón Sánchez told us about two of the surprising ingredients he prefers to add to his queso fundido.
By Helena Nichols
Read More