Press Kit

CITY GIRL COOKS
OUR TEAM
Everyone has a story to tell, especially our team.
MELISSA LUPO
Editor-in-chief
Half Italian and half American from San Francisco, California, Melissa Lupo is a working
freelance copywriter and digital content strategist for luxury food and fashion clients
both in Milan and internationally, and the Editor-in-chief of City Girl Cooks. With a
seasoned work history that spans 18 years, Melissa worked in Finance for two years after
University before transitioning into creative roles, collaborating with top storytellers,
brands, and celebrities across food, fashion and film, including Dreamworks Animation,
Furla, LucasFilm, Maserati, Frette, Illy Caffè, Campari, Rachel Zoe, Cameron Diaz, Justin
Timberlake, and others. Melissa graduated from San Francisco State University with a
bachelors degree in Language Studies, a minor in Food and Culture, and two years study
of International relations.
CAMILA SALLES
STEFANO BERTESELLI
Production Coordinator
Editor, Food Spy
Working in the center of the rapidly growing Brazilian market
of her home city, Rio de Janeiro, Camila Salles spent four years
working in fashion with Lilian Pacce, the top fashion journalist on
GNT, part of Latin America’s biggest television company. After
having worked as a stylist, and in television production, print,
editorials and fashion PR, she is passionate about visual and
written channels of communication. Camila graduated from IED in
Milan, Italy where she now resides and works on food and fashion
projects and social media in addition to her role as production
coordinator and assistant to the Editor-in-chief at City Girl Cooks.
Food Spy Editor, Stefano Berteselli received his first set of knives
at the age of 17 and has had a passion for the kitchen every since.
In university, he went on to study journalism and media, working
on the side as a cook. After university, he went on to live in Venice
Beach, California for three months, absorbing the fresh energy of
the local scene before returning to Milan to combine his interests,
working in Digital Marketing doing e-commerce and blog writing
and articles for one of the largest media outlets in Italy and Food
and Beverage clients.
GEORGY ABASHIDZE
DAVID BLANK
Editor, Rich Picks
Editor, The Social Bite
A truly international identity has had Georgy Abashidze traveling
his entire life, exposing him to some of the most innovative and
high-concept developments across the luxury lifestyle, living in
all parts of the world including London, Moscow, and now Milan.
Fluent in four languages, Georgy was trained at private schools
like the British International School and the Golden Section
School in Moscow. Having studied Fashion Business & Interior
Design at Marangoni in Milan, he is now also studying at The
Brera Academy of Fine Arts also in Milan.
Born in in the Marche region of Italy, David Blank grew up the son
of a church pastor cultivating a passion for music. At the age of 16
David enrolled into a University in London, developing his writing
style at the University of East Anglia, studying Film & American
Studies. While singing and songwriting David was discovered
by an Italian agent and moved to Milan performing at private
events for brands like Cartier and Le Coq Sportif. After becoming
a frequent face in the fashion and music scene in Milan, David
began working for iD Magazine doing translation thanks to his
unique and straightforward writing style.
KRISTIN KNOX
SIMONE MARTUCCI
Staff Writer
Photographer/Videographer
Graduating magna cum laude in English and Classics from
Wellesley, Massachusetts, Kristin Knox attended Corpus Christi
College at Oxford University for her MPhil degree in Greek and
Latin Literature. Kristin launched the highly successful blog The
Clothes Whisperer, in March of 2009. Kristin published her first
book Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation in 2010 and
her second book, Culture to Catwalk in 2011. Her experience
includes fashion and travel writing for InStyle UK, Fashion
Confidential, You Magazine of the Daily Mail, Glam UK and Glam
US, StyleSight and Cosmopolitan.co.uk, fashion copywriter for
United Colors of Benetton, and a contributing writer for the
Financial Times.
Having worked as a professional events and fashion
photographer and videographer in Milan, Italy, Simone Martucci
is known for his unique editorial style and snapping shots of
some of the most famous personalities in fashion like Olivier
Rousteing, Chiara Ferragni, Anna dello Russo and others with
past experience also in print processing and production. A native
resident of Como, Italy, he studied editorial design at CFP Bauer
and began his career as a stage at the publishing house “ISBN
EDIZIONI”, where he remained until 2013. In addition to his role
as head photographer and videographer for City Girl Cooks, he
also collaborates with one of the most notorious video production
studios for fashion in Milan.
ANASTASIA AGURBASH
MICHAEL PETER DYE
Social Media Strategist
House Stylist
While living in Milan, Anastasia Agurbash has had a chance
to look at the fashion industry from different perspectives:
after graduating from Istituto Marangoni in Fashion Design,
Anastasia worked as a stylist for Rough Magazine. Later
earning her Masters Degree in PR & Fashion Communication
Anastasia worked in e-commerce as a Digital Specialist. Having
such a diverse working experience led her into world of Digital
Communication and Social Media Management with a strong
understanding of trend analysis and fashion systems.
With a career in fashion that spans over 20 years, celebrity stylist
and house stylist for City Girl Cooks, Michael Peter Dye has
worked for the top names and celebrities in fashion from Vogue
Australia as a fashion editor to Vanity Fair Italia, Italian Vogue
Gioiello, and Italian Vogue Pelle in Milan as a freelance fashion
editor styling editorials with celebrities like Jerry Hall, Mischa
Barton, Naomi Watts, Adrian Brody, Dita Von Teese, and Pierce
Brosnan among other top models.
GIULIA LOPERTO
VILLA
Graphic Designer
Website designer
Born and raised in Napoli where she studied at the Accademia
di Belle Arti, graphic designer Giulia Loperto transferred to
Milan where she continued her studies in NABA, integrating
graphic design and ADV. With a particular interest in editorial and
illustration, Giulia was able to diversify her experience working for
clients like Ferrero, P&G, Colgate, Palmolive, Unicef, Tezenis, and
Mattel.
Chosen for their reputation of staying up-to-date on the most
current web design trends and intelligent user experience, WE
ARE VILLA is a design house based in Los Angeles, California.
A creative agency that works with clients worldwide on strategy,
user experience, web design, development, and branding,
Villa focuses on precise and intelligent design, specializing in
projects built to scale with cross-platform compatibility and
responsiveness.
S2K
Website Development/SEO
One of the most rapidly growing tech agencies in Milan, Italy, the
S2K Agency is proficient in website, application, e-commerce,
graphic design, and web software and was specifically chosen for
their diversified experience successfully building technology for
fashion and food brands like Ermenegildo Zegna, Frankie
Morello, and Gnam Box.
MISSON STATEMENT
We see stars.
City Girl Cooks seeks to be the most trusted online source for Milan’s coolest restaurants, chefs, and the luxury food
lifestyle, leveraging food and fashion in a highly stylized format creating an immersive and emotional experience.
ABOUT US
A taste for the good life? We invented the good life.
City Girl Cooks presents Milan’s coolest chefs and the luxury food lifestyle. The first food editorial to catch the fancy of
the fashion sector, City Girl Cooks publishes editorials that seamlessly blend food and fashion stories that communicate
lifestyle brand experiences.
COLUMNS
We write about what we love.
CHEFS
THE SOCIAL BITE
Chefs are the only artists in uniform so it’s up to City Girl to
channel their style. Wearing a look to match the attitude of the
chef, City Girl gets personal behind-the-scenes interviews while
cooking in their restaurant kitchens.
We ask Milan’s socialites where they like to snack. A delicious bit
of info from people always on the go, we ask these famous faces
where in they might be spotted for a quick gourmet fix.
EDITION
FOOD SPY
Edition follows City Girl out of the kitchen and into the world with
editorial stories across food, fashion and travel creating immersive
experiences for readers and brands.
Reporting on global food trends, Food Spy Editor Stefano
Berteselli has his ear to the ground for the latest culinary
curiosities that are catching the attention of top chefs around the
world.
RICH PICKS
If Roberto Cavalli designs a new line of dishware for Christmas,
we want to know about it. Luxury products Editor, Gio Abashidze
searches out audacious accessories for the kitchen, taking the
high life to the table.
SPONSORSHIP
Be a part of the story.
Our new section Edition opens up opportunites for sponsorship with stories we tell through the
identity of other brands, offering strategic cross-marketing opportunites, and the creation of highquality content that brands can use across channels.
For information on pricing and descriptions of sponsorship levels, send an email to:
[email protected]
SERVICES
We have a plan.
Good marketing strategies, both online and offline, involve powerful storytelling and proven formulas that evolve with
the landscape. Our core team and our extended network of curated professionals concentrates on providing bespoke
solutions for content creation including:
- Copywriting
- Photography
- Digital media stategy and management
- Translation from/to Italian, English (American and British) and Russian by native speakers
For more information send an email to: [email protected]