The Infatuation Q&A

Hi there!

We’re obsessed with the content coming out of The Infatuation, so in today’s issue we sit down with Megan Daly (Head of Talent Partnerships & Programming for Chase Dining, Travel & Lifestyle) and Brennan Carley (Senior Editor, Entertainment), the duo who are powering all of these creative brand-talent partnerships and editorial bookings. Think: the Severance waffle party, Joe Jonas splitting the bill with Zelle and Chase, and Chrissy Teigen bringing Cravings to life at EEEEEATSCON.

The Infatuation’s mix of talent-driven pieces has featured everyone from Michael Shannon, Shea Couleé, Meghann Fahy to Kevin Bacon — proving that food content can be cool and current.

This isn’t your typical press stop — but it might be your most creative one.

What you’ll take away from this interview:
🎯 How to think beyond chefs— and pitch actors, athletes, creators, and even storylines
🎯 What they’re actually looking for in a pitch
🎯 How hometown heroes have an advantage
🎯 How they incorporate talent into their major food festival

The biggest takeaway? It’s all about food and restaurants! Which means nearly every client has a way in — if you do your homework.

This Q&A breaks down how to turn your client’s everyday obsessions (like a go-to brunch spot or late-night dumpling run) into real coverage.

The Infatuation Isn’t Just for Foodies - it’s a Secret Ingredient for Savvy Publicists

Can you tell us about the verticals you’re booking for The Infatuation and what kind of guests you’re looking for?

Brennan
I handle US editorial for our website, including talent editorial guides across major and expansion markets. I also book talent for our social video franchises. These include the “Iconic” series — New Yorkers, Chicagoans, Angelinos — and “We Got Lunch With,” which is a longer-form interview series. “The Spots” is our shorter format where talent shares three restaurants they love — we just launched that last month. What we’re looking for really depends, but generally it’s talent who are passionate about food. That’s always my answer to publicists. There’s nothing wrong with a standard pitch — “my client is in town doing press, here are the dates” — but we’ll always ask, “Where do they live, and do they like restaurants?” Because that’s the core of what we do. We want people who are engaged in the food scene, who care about where they eat. We’re a recommendation site, so we need talent who can tap into their own knowledge. That’s true for our guides and our videos.

Megan 
On the Infatuation side, especially for editorial and social, people think they need to be chefs or food experts — not true. Most of our recent content features people who are just really passionate and have strong opinions. It can be about anything — pizza, coffee, ice cream, bars — as long as they’re informed and love it. Chefs are great, but they’re not the only fit.

So you’re not specifically looking for chefs, but people who love food. Does the person need to be a household name?

Brennan
It depends. We love big names who are into food — the reach is great. But lately, especially with the Iconic and The Spots franchises, we’re leaning into what we call Hometown Heroes — local experts. They might not be recognizable outside their city, but they’re super plugged in. If you live in LA and see an Infatuation Austin collab, you may not know the talent — but people in Austin do. And if they care what that person has to say, that’s a win. We’ve had a lot of success with that kind of booking recently.

Where do you usually film? Are there specific markets you focus on?

Brennan
We film a lot in New York and LA since we have offices there and talent is often in town for junkets. We also shoot in restaurants, which helps — we’ve done shoots in London, Chicago, and virtually. For example, The Spots series is often filmed on Zoom, so we can work with talent in any of our core or expansion markets.

Megan, can you talk a bit about EEEEEATSCON and the other verticals you’re booking for?

Megan
We started EEEEATSCON in LA in 2017 and it’s grown dramatically - we now do four EEEEEATSCON — LA, New York, Chicago, and Miami. EEEEEATSCON delivers a unique food experience, styled like a music festival with restaurants as headliners and highly curated by our editorial team. We also offer engaging programming- we book a wide range of talent. Some are celebrities with food or beverage brands who want long-term partnerships. Chrissy Teigen is a great example — she came to two last year. We built a big Cravings activation, she met fans, shared on social, and spoke on stage. It was a full partnership.

We also do live podcasts, athlete appearances, student panels — it’s not just about food, it’s about what our audience wants to see. Each event draws over 5,000 attendees per day, and we try to program a little something for everyone.

For the event on June 28 & 29 — is that one already locked in, or are you still booking?

Megan
We typically aim to book 4 to 6 months out, but for the right talent, we’re always willing to be nimble and make the right opportunities work if they come up last minute.

I saw the Severance waffle party — it was brilliant. How did that come together? Did they pitch you? Or did you pitch them? And if a show has a great food storyline, are you game to do something creative?

Brennan
Absolutely. If a show, album, or project has a food theme, we want to hear about it — it makes everything more fun. The Severance idea started months before Season 2. One of our co-founders who is now the head of Culture and Partnerships at Chase, Andrew Steinthal, said, “When Severance returns, we have to throw them a waffle party.” At first it was a casual idea, but when we were discussing press opportunities with Apple we pitched a “safe-for-work” waffle party — since, if you’ve seen the show, you know the original one is... not. We brought in waffles from our recommended NYC spots, like Old John’s Luncheonette. We decorated with mylar balloons — even drew waffles on them since we couldn’t find any in stores. Our whole team came together — talent, edit, video, art — for a 30-minute shoot at the end of their junket week. We weren’t sure how it’d go, but the cast was all in. They loved it.

Brennan
When publicists get us — like when Chris Pine’s team came to Megan last year — it works so well. That video went viral. His film was a love letter to LA, including restaurants, and that led to his video with us. When there’s a food tie-in, we’re all in.

So smart. It’s about looking beyond traditional media — many publicists might not think to pitch The Infatuation. What is the best way to pitch you?

Megan
The biggest thing is knowing the talent’s food preferences. Tell us if they’re obsessed with pizza and live in New York — it makes our job easier and the pitch more compelling. We often don’t get that info and have to dig.

Brennan
Even just knowing where they live and how long they’ve lived there helps. If you say they’re in a new movie and have lived on the Upper West Side for four years, I’m interested. But if I don’t know where they’re from, it’s harder to engage. We’re juggling a lot — a clear hook saves us time and increases the chance of a yes.

Big picture — are you seeing trends in how talent or reps are approaching press?

Brennan
Yes. I’ve been doing this 11 years. It used to be all about the big cover story, one late night, one red carpet. That’s changed. There’s more openness from talent, publicists, and marketers to lean into niche creators and trusted brands — which I love. When talent invests in outlets they believe in, it’s more authentic. You really see their personality. It’s not just a junket where they’re exhausted.

Megan
Totally. I love niche content. Take Perfectly Imperfect — only 75K followers, but it’s so timely and culturally relevant. It’s not about chasing one giant moment anymore. It’s about having multiple meaningful touchpoints. We sit in that sweet spot — niche, but with reach.

I agree. You get way more energy and memorable interviews when someone’s truly passionate — like a foodie talking to your foodie audience. That’s what sticks.

We loved the Joe Jonas feature and how the content ran across The Infatuation and Zelle. Can you walk me through how something like that comes together?

Megan
The Infatuation wanted to do a fun content series — celebrities trying to split the bill. Zelle, one of our Chase partners, wanted to highlight their bill-splitting feature. I was involved early on during concepting. We wanted groups of three figuring out how to split a meal — a slice of pie, a pizza, things like that. From day one, Joe Jonas was my dream pick. He’s a huge Infatuation fan. He loves food and travel, so it was a perfect fit. We worked with his team to build a larger partnership. Joe and two friends went to four Brooklyn restaurants and split the bill on camera. There are two episodes out now. It’s just them talking food, travel, their favorite spots. It was the perfect mix of Chase’s goals and a celebrity who genuinely cares about the content..

If you want to connect with Brennan or Megan, you can reach them: [email protected]

And if you’re in Los Angeles, grab tix to their upcoming EEEEEATSCON on June 28 & 29 in Santa Monica!