Patrick Evans-Hylton
Patrick Evans-Hylton is a Johnson & Wales-trained chef and food journalist, covering foods and foodways in broadcast (radio, television), electronic (blog, newsletter, podcasts, web), print (books, magazines, newspapers), and social media since 1995.
Under VirginiaEatsAndDrinks.com has reported on food and foodways on the Norfolk, Va. CBS affiliate, WTKR News 3 since 2018, and has hosted a weekly radio show, The Virginia Eats + Drinks Show, which airs on air on AM 790 WNIS and online everywhere on WNIS.com since 2017.
Several hundred thousand folks are reached through these venues.
Evans-Hylton previously maintained a lengthy on-air presence on morning shows on the area’s ABC and NBC stations as well.
Nationally, he has appeared on several shows on Food Network and PBS. Evans-Hylton was a guest on a Martha Stewart program nine times.
Also through Virginia Eats + Drinks, Evans-Hylton sends out an electronic newsletter/online magazine which reaches around 30,000 and maintains a blog. He maintains a robust social media presence through venues such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, reaching an additional 30,000.
Evans-Hylton offers online classes and workshops under the Virginia Eats + Drinks banner which utilize his training as a chef, a certified Bourbon Steward and mixologist, beer expert, wine expert, and cheese expert. Some are in association with partners and sponsors, such as Norfolk Festevents, where he has served as Culinary Advisor since 2010.
Since 2000, he has been a journalist with The Virginian-Pilot, the main daily newspaper in Coastal Virginia, currently penning a weekly food column. Over the years he has also written for other newspapers, and freelanced at magazines including AAA and Air Tran’s in-flight magazine.
For 17 years Evans-Hylton served as Senior Editor/Food Editor at Coastal Virginia Magazine (formerly Hampton Roads Magazine) and was the founding Editor-in-Chief for the sister publication, Virginia Wine Lover magazine, now Savor Virginia, serving for 10 years in that role.
During that time, he won numerous awards from the Virginia Press Association, including Best Columnist and Best Features Writer in the state, besting out other journalists at such prestigious publications as The Washington Post and Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Evans-Hylton has written 11 books, including food history books and cookbooks, with such titles as, “Smithfield: Ham Capital of the World,” “Dishing Up Virginia,” “Popcorn,” and “Virginia Distilled: Four Hundred Years of Drinking in the Old Dominion.”
Over the years, Evans-Hylton has served in various roles with the Commonwealth, often making presentations on the food history and foodways of Virginia for the Governor’s Office, Department of Agriculture, Virginia Seafood, and more. He has lectured at such esteemed locations as The College of William & Mary, University of Virginia, the Governor’s Mansion, Norfolk Historical Society, Virginia Festival of the Book, Library of Virginia, and more.
His experience has allowed him to serve in numerous leadership roles, including board positions, at organizations including Art Institute of Virginia Beach, Buy Fresh Buy Local Hampton Roads, C-CAP (Careers through Culinary Arts Program), Culinary Institute of Virginia, Virginia Gov. Terry McAulliffe’s LGBT Tourism Task Force, Old Beach Farmers Market, and Tidewater Community College Culinary Arts Program.
Evans-Hylton also volunteers extensively with the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast to benefit the scouting mission and the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center to benefit homeless and hungry families in the region.
For numerous years, he has served as judge in multiple categories for the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the James Beard Foundation.
After years of planning, Evans-Hylton was able to bring the first-ever officially-sanctioned James Beard Foundation benefit dinner to Coastal Virginia in 2018, hosting the event and raising more than $20,000 for youth scholarships and the non-profit.
In December 2020, he was honored by the Virginia Beach mayor and city council in recognition of his 25 years of work as a food journalist and for making a significant contribution to the food scene of Coastal Virginia.
Evans-Hylton cooks, writes, and creates in his Chesapeake Bay kitchen with his four-legged sous chef, Miss Pico de Gallo, the chow-huahua.