The first group of residents includes Aran Goyoaga, Vallery Lomas, Ben Mims, Nik Sharma, and Maggie Zhu—influential culinary leaders recognized for their unique approaches to cooking, storytelling, and engaging audiences worldwide. These talented creators will collaborate with ATK’s experts to develop exclusive recipes, produce multimedia content across ATK platforms, and make appearances on America’s Test Kitchen shows and recently launched ATK Classes, all while connecting with ATK’s enthusiastic community of home cooks.
Aran Goyoaga: Aran is an award-winning cookbook author, culinary educator, food stylist, and photographer based in Seattle. Aran specializes in gluten-free baking and cooking, elevating both to artistic heights. Her two most recent books—Cannelle et Vanille (2019) and Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple (2021)—are gorgeous and replete with grounded, satisfying recipes.
Vallery Lomas: Vallery is the winner of The Great American Baking Show, a cookbook author, and a frequent guest of The Today Show, The Drew Barrymore Show, and more. Vallery is a Louisiana native living in New York City. Her cookbook Life Is What You Bake It (2021) was lauded by The Boston Globe and The Washington Post and her work has regularly appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Ben Mims: Ben is a venerated food writer, award-winning cookbook author, and editor. Ben studied at the French Culinary Institute and then worked meaty jobs at the industry’s best publications, including Saveur, Food & Wine, Lucky Peach, and the LA Times. His cookbooks include Coconut (2017), Sweet & Southern: Classic Desserts with a Twist (2018), Air Fry Every Day (2018), and his recently released Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World (2024). Ben is based in LA.
Nik Sharma: Nik is a best-selling and award-winning cookbook author, photographer, columnist, and former molecular biologist. He grew up in Bombay and now lives in LA. Nik’s beautifully photographed cookbooks include Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food (2018), The Flavor Equation (2020), and Veg-Table (2023). His blog and San Francisco Chronicle column have been consistently recognized by the IACP.
Maggie Zhu: Maggie is an award-winning blogger, culinary educator, and cookbook author. Maggie grew up in Beijing and now lives in New York City, where she runs her website Omnivore’s Cookbook, which she launched in 2013. It has grown into a go-to resource for anyone interested in making accessible, flavorful, and inspired Chinese recipes. Maggie’s cookbooks include The Chinese Stir Fry Sauce Cookbook and Chinese Homestyle (2022), the latter of which highlights traditional vegan Chinese recipes.