Anne Banas

As a travel and food editor, pastry chef, and world traveler, Anne Banas has been on a lifelong quest to find the world's most authentic foods—especially sweets—and bring them to you, whether in the form of travel articles and photos, recipes from her "test kitchen," or sensual desserts you can eat.

Anne graduated from the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in 2012 with a diploma in pastry arts and has been a travel and food editor since 2000. Currently, she is the Executive Editor of SmarterTravel, a TripAdvisor publication, based in Boston.

At her day job, Anne serves as the face of SmarterTravel, offering expert commentary and helping travelers find the best a destination has to offer. She is responsible for leading a robust team of editors and writers, and always provides valuable insight on travel and food through her columns and countless feature articles, destination guides, and travel tips. Her stories have appeared on USAToday, Yahoo Travel, The Huffington Post, ABC News, Boston.com, and other major publications.

As a sought after consumer travel expert, Anne has appeared on both local and national broadcast programs like ABC Nightline, The Early Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Weather Channel, and HuffPost Live. She is also a regular radio guest with Peter Greenberg, OnTravel, KGO On the Go, and NPR. Anne's commentary has been featured among leading media outlets, including The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Condé Nast Traveller, and Travel + Leisure.

When it comes to travel and lifestyle, Anne is most passionate about local cuisine and culture, as well as sustainability, and she especially enjoys traveling to Europe, the U.K., the Caribbean, remote islands, and even her own backyard. When she's not at the office, she's usually visiting local farms and markets, uncovering hidden restaurant gems, gardening, taking food photos, or developing recipes in her "test kitchen."

In 2012, she graduated with high honors in the Professional Pastry Program at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, and was granted the Jean Creveux (MOF) Award for outstanding skill with sugar. And while her main focus was pastry arts guided by a French Master Patissier, she also rounded out her culinary education with rotations in savory cooking, wine/sommelier training, and food and recipe writing.
Anne received her undergraduate degree from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and studied abroad at Trinity College, Oxford University.