Our Brand Pillars

• Food & Drink    
• Culture & Community
• Travel & Exploration
• Southern Makers & Experts
• Ingredients & Products
• Home & Entertaining

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• The Local Palate Facebook
• The Local Palate Twitter
• The Local Palate Pinterest
• The Local Palate Instagram
• The Local Palate YouTube

Visit the Local Palate Marketplace to shop a curated selection of artisan goods for your table, bar, kitchen, and pantry.

Joe Spector, Publisher & CEO
Joe Spector is Publisher & CEO of the Local Palate. He founded the magazine in 2011 and over the past eleven years has been the driving force behind it, creating new opportunities and areas for growth, including expanding its distribution nationally. The Local Palate has enjoyed sustained growth across multiple platforms including print, digital, social media, and events. In 2020, localpalatemarketplace.com was launched to showcase and support southern makers and their products and help them reach a national audience. After graduating from Northeastern University in Boston, Spector spearheaded a number of start-up ventures in the consumer products industry, technology sector, and entertainment industry before turning to the publishing industry. He lives on Wadmalaw Island with his wife Jaynie, who owns Dog & Horse Fine Art and their dog Tommy.

Erin Byers Murray, Editor in Chief
Erin Byers Murray joined the Local Palate in 2020 as editor in chief and oversees the editorial content across all platforms, including the magazine, the Local Palate Marketplace, the website, and social media channels. She began working with the magazine as a freelance writer in 2015, and brings with her 20 years of magazine editing and food reporting experience. Murray is an award-winning author and cookbook collaborator, and her work has appeared in publications from the Boston Globe to Food & Wine. Murray’s fascination with recipes and ingredients extends into her home life—the Syracuse University alum loves testing and experimenting with new recipes, or figuring out dishes to try in her outdoor pizza oven. When she’s not cooking, she spends time walking the hills of West Nashville or digging into a good book, and is usually surrounded by her husband Dave, their children Charlie and Maggie, and their rescue dog Rex.

For editorial inquiries, pitches, or feedback, please email Erin at erin@thelocalpalate.com.

Amanda FitzGerald, Director of Sales and Marketing
Amanda FitzGerald thrives on wearing multiple hats, which comes with the territory of being Director of Sales and Marketing. After graduating from Clemon University with an International Management degree, Amanda fell into a career in the publishing industry. Her array of experience from American City Business Journals is what led her to pursue the Local Palate when returning home to Charleston, combining her interest and love for food and traveling, and passion for the publishing world. Amanda and her husband James are always seeking their next adventure with their son Fitz in tow, when they’re not at home with their dog Hattie and cat Birdie.

Angelique DeClercq, Art Director
A reformed Northerner (like many of us here at TLP), Angelique DeClercq moved to the Orlando area in the early 2000s after years on staff at Wine Spectator and freelance stints with publications like Saveur and Vogue. In Florida, Angelique began teaching art and design to high school and college students and dove back into the publishing world at Bonnier publications Garden Design and American Photo. Now, she’s relocated once again, this time to Charleston to take up the mantle as TLP’s new art director. “It’s always been a dream of mine to art direct a food publication,” she says. 

Maggie Ward, Events and Marketing Manager
Maggie Ward is an events and marketing manager for the Local Palate magazine. Having spent three years in various roles within the Local Palate, Maggie specializes in special projects that bring the stories from our pages to life and creating experiences that allow our readers to engage with the magazine in meaningful ways. She spends her time seeking out the latest underground culinary talents and trends around the South. While based in downtown Charleston, Maggie is an avid adventure traveler, spending part of her years in remote locations discovering the international foodways that continue to influence Southern food culture today. 

Emily Havener, Managing Editor
Emily Havener likes contradictions—she was born in the South but moved to the North at the age of 12 and attended the University of Pittsburgh for a BA in English writing before returning to the Charleston area. She is an avid reader and writer and started her editing career by cofounding a boutique editing firm in 2005, bartending on the side, and Charleston’s creative food scene turned her into a foodie who dabbled in restaurant reviews and food blogging. In 2009 she graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s health coach certification program and started a meal planning service for recipe simplification. She loves to eat, especially tacos, raw and cooked seafood of all kinds, charcuterie, and pickled everything. As long as she has some kind of cheese on hand, she can make a meal. She has found the perfect combination of her love of food, writing, and organization at the Local Palate. Emily lives in Summerville, South Carolina, with her family.

Amber Chase, Digital Editor
Amber Chase thrives balancing big-picture possibility with small-scale detail. She brings a breadth of food knowledge, a hearty work ethic, and a very high gluten tolerance to her role as Digital Editor for the Local Palate. Her years have been shared between Charleston, South Carolina and her hometown, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, thoroughly securing her as a Southern native. In a past life, she co-owned a bakery, starting her mornings at dawn and returning home covered in flour and coffee grounds. After working with various local publications, she fulfills her dream of contributing to a food publication with her role at the Local Palate. Her other full-time gig is parenting her daughter, Nova, who will no doubt grow to be her superior.

Hannah Lee Leidy, Associate Editor
Hannah Lee Leidy joined the Local Palate as their Associate Editor, bringing with her a deep love for cheese, traveling, and David Sedaris essays. A Southern native with a penchant for snowfall, she studied English and Creative Writing at Kenyon College in Ohio. Her work as a travel editor introduced her to the wonderful world of food writing. As she cut her teeth on freelance gigs, contributing to Condé Nast Traveler, Eater, Food52, and Culture Cheese Magazine, she concurrently worked in fine dining, learning everything she could between the bar, the cooking line, and early mornings assisting the pastry chef. If she’s not outdoors, she’s either baking pie or visiting the nearest cheese counter.

Chris Dugas, E-Commerce Engagement Manager
Chris Dugas has been nurturing a love for Southern culture from his earliest days, especially when it comes to food. The son of a restaurant professional, Chris started cooking at a young age and has always considered food his true passion—but it was his desire to dress well that led him on a path into retail while he was an undergrad at Valdosta State University. From launching a custom suiting program eventually managing the e-commerce department for a shop in Charleston, Chris’ appreciation for fine, Southern brands, coupled with his desire to work with what he’s most passionate about, led him to the role of e-commerce engagement manager for the Local Palate Marketplace. When he’s not helping any number of artisanal producers tell their stories, Chris can be found at Charleston haunts like Graft Wine Shop or Little Jack’s Tavern, ordering an old fashioned, or cooking dinner in his Avondale home with his girlfriend Julie and pups Harper and Brewer.

Brian LePorte, Advertising Sales Executive
Brian LePorte is all about chasing down business and most important, the relationship building of sales. After graduating from Clemson University with a business management degree, Brian started his a career in sales. His experiences range from selling water filtration systems, to corporate season tickets with the Charleston Battery, to now selling ad space for the Local Palate. When Brian is not in the office you will find him hanging out with friends, on the beach, golfing, crabbing, or enjoying some good food and drink.

Courtney Ormon, Sales and Marketing Specialist
Courtney is the Sales & Marketing Specialist here at The Local Palate. After graduating from CU Boulder, the Northeast native returned to her roots and gave the whole New York City thing a shot. It took three years (and a global pandemic) for her to realize that she wanted to pursue a slower pace, eventually leading her to Charleston. Courtney’s background in food media (Food52) and publishing (Boulder Magazine) led her to The Local Palate. When Courtney is not in the office, she spends time exploring all the culinary gems of the Southeast, experimenting in her kitchen, and spending time with her with Yellow Lab, Otto.