Melissa Campana
School
University Of Arizona
Expertise
Cocktails, Italian Food, Family Meals, Food Culture
- Melissa's first freelance writing gig might have been her coolest: happy hour columnist for a local alt weekly. Once a week, she had to (had to) find and review a new happy hour hotspot.
- When Melissa lived in Florence, Italy, her house overlooked the Sant'Ambrogio marketplace. Taking great produce and great advice home (alongside her bad Italian) every day — and trying to figure out what to do next — was a massive and delicious education in food.
- Melissa worked at a five-star hotel in Dublin, Ireland; which, at the time, meant a 50% food and beverage discount at sister properties across Europe. She would never have had hunks of parmesan at the St. Regis Rome, or sacher torte in an old palace in Vienna, or fish caught right in front of her in Marsaxlokk, Malta, if it wasn't for that job.
Experience
While writing has always been an important part of her life, Melissa had long since graduated college before she realized she could make a living out of it. After working for a parenting magazine in Arizona, Melissa found her groove when she started freelancing for Phoenix New Times, the alternative weekly paper in her area that covered news and culture. Their food and drink vertical gave her the opportunity to interview restaurateurs, attend culinary events, and try her hand at being a food critic. She also wrote two weekly columns, one on breakfast and one on happy hour...which meant she got to bookend her day with food writing. It was an editor at New Times who introduced Melissa to the wonderful world of Mashed.
Education
Melissa was an English major at the University of Arizona, before a semester abroad in Spain convinced her to get a degree in Spanish and Portuguese. She's been traveling, eating, and writing about both ever since.
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Stories By Melissa Campana
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As crazy as it is to imagine, a Disney movie helped solve a mystery more than 60 years old.
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In the world of Karate Kid and Cobra Kai, father-child dynamics are a consistent theme throughout every karate kid's storyline.
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Back to the Future III took Marty McFly and Doc Brown to the Old West, so when the DeLorean runs out of gas, why didn't scientist Doc Brown just create some?
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The trailer for Disney+'s new series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers features several little nods to the original Mighty Ducks franchise.
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The drama series Lost was mysterious, exciting, and pretty spooky — and not just in terms of its storylines. A real crime scene was used to film parts of Lost.
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Like so many of the magical creatures in the wizarding world, bowtruckles are certainly more than meets the eye. Here's the truth about these quirky characters.
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Froggy from The Little Rascals is all grown up, and you'll be shocked at what he looks like today.
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With two more movies due for release soon, the Mission Impossible franchise has continued to get better. Here's how the existing six rank from worst to best.
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Season 9 of truTV's Impractical Jokers was planned and filmed during the coronavirus pandemic. Here's how the show's team made it happen.
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Bill Murray isn't the only one who recognizes Ned Ryerson. Here's why this famous character actor looks so familiar.
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Here's the song used in Apple's "Behind the Mac - Greatness" commercial.
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It's been 30 years since we first met Janice, and the understated beauty of today's Maggie Wheeler, the woman behind The Janice, may catch you off guard.
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Here's where you've seen the actor who plays Private Mellish in Saving Private Ryan before.
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In an interview with CinemaBlend, Casey Affleck reveals what it was actually like filming the Steven Soderbergh hit Ocean's Eleven.
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More than 25 years have gone by since the release of Jumanji. Here's what the actor who played Peter Shepherd in the film looks like today.