Isabella Kostolni

• Isabella covered Jason Momoa's Meili Vodka Revolution Tour for a local newspaper when it stopped in Wisconsin, gaining special access to watch the "Aquaman" and "Game of Thrones" celeb sign thousands of bottles of alcohol to distribute to fans.
• Inside her phone's notes app, she has an elaborate list ranking more than two dozen independent southeastern Wisconsin coffee shops on criteria such as vibes, Wi-Fi speed, and quality of iced chai latte — a personal project she's been working on since 2021.
• A proud Wisconsinite, one of Isabella's favorite activities is introducing out-of-towners to the Badger State's numerous culinary traditions like supper clubs, Friday fish fries, and Sunday morning hot ham and rolls.

Experience

Throughout her elementary school career, Isabella regularly faked illness as an excuse to stay home and watch "Barefoot Contessa" on the Food Network. It was Ina Garten's elegant – but not fussy – style that got her hooked on home cooking and baking and taught her the importance of using "good vanilla." Now, Isabella spends her free time developing her own recipes and is happy to share the secret to mind-blowing banana bread (maple syrup), crazy good coffee cake (ground cardamom), and scrumptious chocolate chip cookies (shredded coconut). Her love of food and passion for writing first intersected in 2022, when Isabella became a member of Yelp Elite, thanks to her meticulously detailed restaurant reviews. The following year, she got her start in journalism, writing for a daily local newspaper in a Milwaukee suburb and winning two awards from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association for her community reporting. Though she covered everything from municipal government to national politics during her tenure, Isabella's journalistic appetite is for all things gastronomy, and her favorite assignments were previewing forthcoming restaurants, interviewing industry experts, and reflecting on eateries that have become local institutions. When she's not cooking, baking, or writing, Isabella can be found perusing indie bookstores for the next cookbook to add to her ever-growing collection.

Education

Isabella has a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in journalism, English, and Spanish from the University of Missouri and a graduate certificate in professional writing from Southern New Hampshire University. She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University.