A Vegetarian Butcher
by Sonia Dovedy
I suppose I consider myself a flexitarian. Vegetarian most hours of the day, but always willing to expose my tastebuds to something other than what I know. That is, if it feels right.
Growing up in an Indian household, I was exposed to the smell of fresh mustard seeds toasting in the pan, the soothing hand-feel of smooth chappati dough, and lots of chillies! No one was allowed to leave home without nourishment. Food, as I understood it then, translated into love.
Bringing Food History to Nutrition
This is the third post in a series highlighting the ways students utilize Boston University’s many resources to cater the Gastronomy program to fit their own unique interests and needs. Don't miss Carlos' post on Entrepreneurship or Debra's on Technology.
by Kelly Toups
As an eager, young registered dietitian, I quickly realized I’d rather spend my time talking about the “food” aspect of nutrition than insulin and tube feedings. The BU Gastronomy program, which focused on issues of culture, policy, food systems, and cuisine, was exactly the kind of education I that I needed to specialize within my field, and transition to a more food-focused career.
Putting Gastronomy Theories into Action
This is the second post in a series highlighting the ways students utilize Boston University's many resources to cater the Gastronomy program to fit their own unique interests and needs. Read the first post here.
by Debra Zides
As a Gastronomy student who has grown up in a world very far from the foodies, I continually get asked the question, “Deb, what do you do with a Gastronomy degree?” During my time here at Boston University, I have developed two speeches that answer the question. My first answer ties back to why I entered the degree program in the first place – I wanted to turn my interest in starting up a small, artisanal tequila business into a reality. My second answer…well that is the story for this blog. I am going to tell you how I gained an appreciation for the current challenges and issues in our Food System, and how I am in the process of undertaking steps to solve one small problem leveraging technology to make the world a little better than when I found it. In short, how I am developing a capability that will allow households to circumvent “big” agribusiness, bringing decisive information to the people.
Course Spotlight: Cultural Entrepreneurship
This post is the first in a series highlighting the ways students utilize Boston University's many resources to cater the Gastronomy program to their own interests and needs.
by Carlos Olaechea
I’m sure many if not all Gastronomy students have run into a situation in which you are discussing your degree program with family, friends, or relatives and someone brings up this question: “What are you going to do with that degree?” Sure, there are many opportunities to find careers with employers in both the public and private sectors, but a good number of us also have ideas to start our own businesses or projects. Throughout our time as students, we receive a solid foundation in the theoretical aspects of food studies, and some of us supplement the core curriculum with courses in food writing, business, marketing, and culinary arts. Nevertheless, sometimes we need some extra insight into how to take our post-graduation plans from a concept to a viable venture. It was this need that led me to enroll in the Cultural Entrepreneurship class in the Arts Administration Department.
The Meaning of Mise-en-Place
by Claudia Catalano
One of the first lessons students learn in culinary school is the meaning of mise-en-place. French for "put in place", it means that ingredients are prepped, tools are gathered, and everything is organized before cooking begins. It's a grounding philosophy that keeps your head clear and your body poised to make things happen.
After almost a year in the BU kitchen, I have become intimately familiar with the concept. As part of my Gastronomy degree, I completed the Culinary Certificate program last spring, and was honored to be awarded the Julia Child teaching assistant position for the Fall 2015 semester. From September to December (that flew by), I fastidiously 'mise-en-placed' my way through veal stocks, bread dough, handmade pasta, fresh ricotta, Thai green curry, Punjabi greens, tres leches cake and much, much more. I gathered produce for daily recipes, measured ingredients for morning demonstrations, peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes, and washed caseloads of chicken backs for the stockpot. My corner of the kitchen was rarely without a project.
Decoding Alternative Food Communities
by Ariel Knoebel
I stared down at the entangled green tendrils in the dirt, thinking to myself “What is tatsoi, anyway?”
I was embarrassed to ask. Everyone else seemed to know exactly what they were doing as they crouched between the rows of bushy greens, chatting while weeding with expert hands until perfectly straight rows emerged down the field. Eventually, I got over my first-day-of school jitters and spoke up, swallowing my pride for the sake of the soon-to-be-uprooted plants in my hands. From there, I learned not only about the small oval shaped leaves I was weeding around, but all about the farm crew members, where they came from, and what drew them to the hot, dusty, hard work of growing food for the community.
Wedding Cakes, Congealed Precedent, and that time I wrote a thesis
by Lucy Valena
From my first semester in the gastronomy program, I'd pretty much decided I would write a thesis. As a project-oriented person hoping to do independent academic writing in the future, it seemed like a good challenge that would help me prepare for the next step in my career. Additionally, I was feeling unsure as to whether or not I would apply for a PhD program after finishing my master's degree, but knowing there was a chance I might want to definitely solidified my choice.
Since the history and symbolic aspects of food are what that I find most fascinating, wedding cake seemed like a natural target for my research. I had also written a paper about wedding cake history for the intro class, so I at least knew something about the previous work that had been done on the topic.
Wedding cake has survived for such a long time (at least 300 years), and it shows no sign of going away; my question was, simply, why? The project ended up taking me all over the place: my research included reading historic cookbooks, interviews with producers of fake wedding cakes, and analysis of mainstream television. In order to really address my findings the way I wanted to, I had to cobble together theory from three different thinkers.
In the end, I found that wedding cake has survived because of its flexibility and constant shape-shifting. While its physical form has changed so much over time, the value ascribed to it has remained the same- a mixture of commodity fetishism and ‘tradition’, or what I call ‘congealed precedent’. These factors have allowed the wedding cake to remain fashionable and also symbolically important over the ages.
Writing a thesis was the most intellectually stimulating thing I’ve ever done. It was very difficult, and for the last few months of the year I spent working on it, I had the uncanny feeling that my project was eating me alive. I am a painfully slow writer, and I ended up rewriting the paper at least five times before I finally felt it was done. However, getting through it, seeing the challenge and rising up to meet it, was very empowering and invigorating. Since I got my undergrad degree in studio art, before this I had never written anything more than twenty pages (aside from the failed novel I keep in a drawer in my desk). After this experience, I have confidence and excitement about other research and writing I would like to do independently, a task I now feel I have the tools for. Obtaining those tools was my main reason for going to grad school in the first place, and with that in mind, I feel great about the experience.
In the time I was writing my thesis, I got married. In addition, I sold my business of five years, and subsequently underwent the somewhat dramatic lifestyle change of no longer being self employed. Sometimes, life is like that, and everything shifts all at once. If I could do it all again I may have timed things differently, but there was also something magical and liminal about that intense year. Its almost as if I was transformed into a different person, in a time that was bookended by the beginning and finishing of this project. I’m still not sure if doctoral work is in my future, but if it is, I know that I will be much more prepared for it because I wrote a thesis.
Read more of Lucy's writing and follow her many baking adventures at her blog, Ink and Lemon.
New Instructor: Corby Kummer
The Gastronomy program is pleased to welcome our newest instructor, Corby Kummer.
Heralded by the San Francisco Examiner as "the dean among food writers in America," Kummer is a welcome addition to our program. He is Senior editor at The Atlantic, where he has worked for over three decades, as well as the restaurant critic at Boston Magazine. Author of two books, The Joy of Coffee and The Pleasures of Slow Food, Kummer boasts five James Beard Journalism awards. Most recently, he has begun writing a monthly column on the intersection of food and culture for The New Republic.
In his course, Food Writing for Media, Kummer will guide students through the fundamentals of food journalism. Topics include journalistic ethics, advertising, recipe writing, and food criticism. In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of the program, this course will take scientific, technological, anthropological, and historical approaches to writing about food.
Welcome, Mr. Kummer. We are excited to have you!
More New Students for Spring 2016
The MLA in Gastronomy and Food Studies Certificate programs are happy to welcome a new cohort of student for the Spring 2016 Semester. Here is your chance to get to know a few of them:
Christian Kapeller was born in the region of Carinthia, which lies in the south of Austria, bordering Slovenia and the Italian regions of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto, which are famous for their food and wine. He grew up with the Austro-Italian way of life regarding culture and culinary habits. He enjoys exploring and getting to know other cultures with their culinary characteristics and different business environments. During his Bachelor studies in International Business Administration at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, he took the opportunity to work as an intern for a travel agency in Hong Kong for two months and to participate in the International Summer University program in Austin, Texas, organized by the McCombs School of Business. This experience abroad piqued Christian’s interest for the gastronomy sector.
While in Texas, Christian realized how enormous the innovation potential within the food and beverage sector could be. He writes “After one of our intensive meetings regarding our marketplace simulation at the McCombs School of Business I went out with one of my colleagues with the goal to taste one of the famous Berlin-inspired Kebaps from Austin, Texas. The innovative products offered by a specially developed distribution system of VertsKabap, founded by two German business students some years ago, were fresh, delicious and healthy. For my colleague and me it was obvious that the highly professional and well organized start-up could become successful in the future. Nowadays, VertsKebap is a symbol of the "Kebap eating habit" as the young and creative brand offers its products at many locations all around Texas.”
Christian plans to focus in Business and Entrepreneurship during his time in the Gastronomy program, and looks forward to meeting and learning from lots of student colleagues, professors and industry professionals from various backgrounds with different views.
Morgan Mannino was born in the land
of Omaha Steaks and sweet corn, but among the six states (and counting) she’s lived in, the state where pork barbecue is king, Cheerwine is his queen, and Texas Pete is the outlaw roaming the beautiful landscape is where she feels most at home. She currently lives in Jamaica Plain and originally came to the Boston area almost 6 years ago to pursue her BFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University. During her time at the SMFA and Tufts almost all of her artwork and academic research was rooted in food studies. There she had the opportunity to study abroad at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris where she fell in love with gastronomy even further. After completing the program, she began working full-time in the Sponsorship department at America’s Test Kitchen where she still works today by day. She still keeps up her art practice on the side and taught painting to adults at Newton Community Education up until being admitted to the BU Gastronomy program. She loves the way food can be a vehicle in which to experience personal histories, public histories, cultures, etc and is excited to be in an environment that will foster her love of food further. She is also excited to be surrounded and inspired by her peers and professors to take that love and knowledge to another level. Through the program she would like to pursue both a focus in history and culture as well as business and entrepreneurship. Follow her adventures on Instagram: @momannino.
New Students for the New Year
The MLA in Gastronomy and Food Studies Certificate programs are happy to welcome a new cohort of student for the Spring 2016 Semester. Here is your chance to get to know a few of them:
Frank Carrieri is not your stereotypical New Yorker. He smiles at passersby, properly articulates the letter ‘r’ in words like mother or father, and doesn’t think New York is the only place to buy good pizza. He is a strong believer in that there is no sincerer love than the love for food. Since the young age of 17, Frank has lived, breathed and dreamed about food. With years of industry experience he has created an uncontrollable passion to learn as much as he can. Frank started out working in fine dining. He admired the kitchen atmosphere- the fast-pace environment, the camaraderie, and the love for the craft. Frank took that drive and enrolled at Johnson & Wales University, where he earned a bachelor’s of science in Baking & Pastry Arts & Food Service Management. During his tenure at J&W, Frank had the privilege to work with many inspirational and talented chefs.
Competitions paved a way for Frank’s growth as a culinarian. He was a part of an international pastry competition in which his team placed first. Frank and his team were featured in Dessert Professional magazine for their victory. As he enjoys all things baking, Frank has a strong relationship with chocolate, contemporary plated desserts, and molecular gastronomy. Currently, Frank is working for a 5 star luxury hotel where each day is a new and exciting challenge. He hopes to one day build the dreams and curiosity of the future young culinarians by teaching baking & pastry arts. When Frank is not in the kitchen, he is at an indie concert or exploring Boston. He is fan of geometric and abstract art and has an obsession with French Bulldogs.
Alex Lennon-Simon was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. As a child she was in an urban farming program at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which piqued her interest in growing her own food. After graduating from the program, she worked for many years as an educator at the BBG while earning her BA from Bard College, where she majored in American Studies with a focus on race and income inequality. Since then, she has worked in a variety of fields, from horticulturalist at the Butterfly Garden at the Museum of Science, to landscape garden designer. Alex has since left the field of ornamentals, and returned to growing vegetables. She currently works at Waltham Fields Community Farm, where she manages the education programs for kids and families, the youth employment program and WFCF's Outreach Market for low-income families, and feeds and cares for WFCF's chickens. While enrolled in the BU Gastronomy program, she plans to focus on food systems and food access.
Daryl Mogilewsky received her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies at the University of Oregon. The degree required traveling, studying a language and selecting a geographic region to focus on. However, what she enjoyed most about the program was its attention to international issues and social justice. Through the study of historic and present day perspectives she was exposed to the inextricable links between international issues of poverty, education, environment and health.
Daryl found herself focusing a majority of her term papers on health related issues and specifically on food and it's social, economic, political, environmental and cultural implications around the world and here at home. She believes that our food system, through education and program/policy creation, can play a major role in enhancing the physical and emotional health of our communities. She also believes that good, affordable and accessible food should be an inalienable right.
As an ardent food enthusiast, Daryl aims to build the necessary skills to create wonderful food, to tell stories about food and to make "good" food more accessible.
Mindy Sherbet is an incoming Spring 2016 Food Certificate Student who has been in the culinary world since she was 8 years old. It all started with baking cakes for her grandmothers weekly visits, which sparked an interest and enthusiasm that continues to this day. Mindy moved to Boston four years ago from NJ with her husband and three children. A former marketing professional, she now spends her time following her various passions of food and learning languages. Mindy has a part-time personal chef business that keeps her culinary skills current and constantly evolving.
Jessi VanStaalduinen recently graduated from Appalachian State University with her Bachelor of Science in Food Systems Management. Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, the move to Boston will have her far from home, though she is ecstatic to travel. She has worked in many sorts of food establishments and hopes someday to own one herself. Hailing from a home with no culinary interest, Jessi has soaked up all foodie knowledge like a sponge cake. Positive, creative, and passionate, Jessi is cooking, writing, reading, and talking about food constantly. She especially has a passion for food justice. She wants to help the country (and the world) progress to be more sustainable to protect the future's food supply. She firmly believes that people should know what they’re eating and where it comes from, therefore she is excited to move to a city where she will have many local options to choose from. Jessi can be found drinking coffee at all hours of the day.