“What’s your favorite restaurant in New York?” Eater editor-in-chief Stephanie Wu gets this question all the time — she’s used to it now — but the truth is her average workday doesn’t include eating three meals out at New York’s best restaurants. Sometimes even snacking is difficult. “I’m in a lot of meetings, and I don’t love the idea of eating on-camera,” she says. Instead, her daily fuel is simple: cold brew and rice cakes with peanut butter, a snack that’s easy to squeeze in between meetings, emails and Slack messages, and the occasional four o’clock afternoon pick-me-up pastry. And while Wu has always loved dining out and giving her friends recommendations, eating at a restaurant every night isn’t realistic when you have a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old at home.
It’s a balancing act, of course, and Wu is doing just that. She oversees editorial at Eater, leading a team of writers, editors, video creators, and audience team members. Under her leadership, Eater has expanded to include cookbooks and guide books, a cookware line, and an app that showcases Eater’s beloved heat maps. At the moment, the team is gearing up to host Eater Under Wraps, a two-day IRL holiday market on December 13 to 14 that brings the publication’s holiday gift guide to life. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children. Here’s how she gets it done.
On her morning routine:
I usually set an alarm for 7 a.m., but my kids typically wake me up before that. They’re my alarm clock. My husband tends to wake up first and begin their morning routine, and I’ll steal a few more minutes of sleep before getting myself ready for the day. I’m big on waking up and immediately putting on my workout clothes. It takes about 45 minutes to get the kids ready. They wake up hungry and demand snacks immediately, so I give them a makeshift breakfast to tide them over until they have a proper breakfast at school. We try to get them out of the house by 8:30 so my husband and I can both get ready for our workdays. My son takes the school bus, and my daughter’s day care is nearby, so I walk her there and then I head home or go into the office.
I like to squeeze in a workout and a shower and have breakfast to kickstart my morning and make me feel like a human. I’m a big Peloton person, so I will typically do a 20- or 30-minute ride on the bike. If it’s a really tight morning and I don’t have time for a full workout, I’ll do a shorter core class or Pilates class, but I try to work out every day. Not having to leave the apartment and just being able to get my workout in and not waste any time is really helpful.
On her career path:
I grew up in Taipei when LiveJournal and MySpace were big, which involved connecting with people around the world, but American and British magazines were my pathway into understanding pop culture. Whenever my dad would go on business trips, I’d ask him to pick up magazines and bring them home. I fell in love with magazines as a storytelling medium, and I knew I wanted to work in magazines — looking at how the words, visuals, and layouts all work together to reach people. That’s what got me into studying journalism.
My first role was at Town & Country, where I covered everything under the sun — travel, food, weddings, culture, fashion, and beauty. I started to understand what it meant to know a little bit of everything, and for specific stories, I’d do deep research and tell that story really well to an extremely niche audience. My time there was a learning experience. It taught me how to understand your audience even when you’re not part of that audience.
On a typical workday:
By 10 a.m. the latest, I’m in meetings, and those meetings take me all the way through the end of the day. I have a massive to-do list that’s just one big running Google Doc where I write down the things I want to do that day. I have checklists of next steps and all of my meeting notes there. It helps to just have one thing to refer to. I still have a million tabs open all the time, but at least I know my to-do list is all in one place.
On not having an assistant:
I have an incredible team of editorial leaders, and most of them have been at Eater longer than I have. They do a great job of running their teams and making sure everything we publish is amazing. My closest colleague is our executive director of operations, who keeps all of the trains running and is the other side of my brain.
On changes in the industry:
Fifteen years ago, the dream job was to be the assistant to an editor-in-chief of a glossy magazine. I wouldn’t be surprised if the dream journalism job for college students now is working on something that feels like an extension of where journalism is going as opposed to a rigid hierarchy where you start at the bottom of the ladder and work your way up.
On unwinding after work:
I’m very dedicated to my New York Times games, so I’ll do Wordle, Connections, and the crossword every day. I also have a Duolingo streak that I’m very proud of. I picked up Duolingo to try and speak Cantonese because my husband’s family is from Hong Kong. I speak Mandarin, but I don’t speak Cantonese, and so I’ve just been using Duolingo to familiarize myself with Cantonese. I wouldn’t even say I can speak it. But I think it’s just these little routines that help me keep my days structured so I’m thinking about things other than work.
I also have an extremely long list of books I want to read. I tend to get into books and read them back-to-back, but when there’s nothing in my library-book queue that’s ready for me, I’ll step away, and it takes me a little bit of time to get back into reading again. I’m currently in one of those lulls, but there are two books that are high on my to-read list: Bear, by Julia Phillips and The Myth of Making It, by my friend Samhita Mukhopadhyay.
On the people who help her get it done:
My husband does so much for the family. He cooks all the food, which includes figuring out meals for two incredibly picky children right now. We work together for the morning routines and evening routines, and on weekends, we come up with ways to entertain the kids. He’s the No. 1 reason I get anything done. Also, my mother lives nearby, so she can help on the weekends or evenings and stay at the apartment while the kids are sleeping or when we need a break or have a date night. My brother also lives nearby, which is incredibly helpful, and he’s there in a pinch if I need him. He’s the best uncle ever.
On work/life balance:
I don’t have a social life until eight o’clock, and that’s the earliest you’re going to see me on a weekend. After the kids are asleep, I can get dressed, turn around, and go out. I hold myself to only going out two nights a week — whether that means trying a new restaurant or going to an event for work. It’s all about balancing the things I want to do in the evening with my pure curiosity for wanting to try new restaurants. Luckily, I have friends who are very game to tag along. I like to identify the places I’m interested in and make a reservation before it becomes impossible to get one.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
