Celebrating Julia Child’s Centenary with her Assistant & BU Alumna, Stephanie Hersh
As food lovers across America celebrate today what would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday, Boston University Gastronomy students, faculty, and alumni celebrate not only Julia, but also the academic program that is part of her legacy.
Established by Julia Child and Jacques Pépin, the Boston University Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy program is primed to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its founding—and what better way to learn about how it all began than to sit down with Stephanie Hersh, the first graduate of the program with a Major in Gastronomy, and Julia Child’s full-time personal assistant for nearly 16 years.
with Julia Child
While interested in food from an early age, Hersh recalls that pursuing a career in food was not always viewed with esteem, respect, and a degree of celebrity, but rather as invisible, manual labor. Regardless, after receiving her undergraduate degree, Hersh studied at the Culinary Institute of America, and happily began working in Boston-area hotel kitchens and as a private chef. While taking a course to augment her administrative skills, Hersh got word that Julia Child was looking for an assistant.
“I never in a million years would have pictured myself with Julia,” she says. “It was a dream job.” While working with Child, Hersh expressed her concern for yet another change in the restaurant industry. “It used to be that you could start in a restaurant as a pot washer and work your way up to become the executive chef,” says Hersh. “Eventually, that stopped being the case because chefs needed to know about nutrition and menu planning; to understand how to balance a meal and the connection between food and culture. They needed to be media savvy. The chef suddenly became someone who was important and thus needed more training.”
A strong advocate of education, always eager to learn new things herself, Child participated in meetings with Boston-area chefs and academics alike, collective efforts which eventually resulted in the creation of the Boston University Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy program. The program now graduates healthy cohorts of students on an annual basis, who pursue careers not only in restaurant kitchens, but also in academia, food and agricultural policy, and other areas of the food industry. Hersh gushed, “Julia would be so thrilled to know the program is still carrying on and doing so well.”
As the first graduate of the Master of Liberal Arts program with a Major in Gastronomy, Hersh describes her studies as a broadening experience. She says:
The food and culture link is key. Food is a great ‘socializer.’ It connects people in a non-threatening way. Think about when you’re on an airplane. Most people sit and put their heads down, trying to avoid eye contact or talking to anyone. But once the in-flight meal is served, strangers connect. The icebreaker is discussions about the food.
For her thesis, titled, “Children's Cookery Books: Windows into Social and Economic Change,” Hersh built upon her personal and professional interest in children’s cooking. She drew from resources in the Johnson and Wales University Culinary Arts Museum cookbook collection, exploring children’s cooking alongside historical, social, and economic trends.
Hersh still loves cooking with children. She currently lives in Christchurch, teaching adult education cooking courses and a twelve-week food technology course to New Zealand school children, 11 to 13 years of age. This food technology course is required across the country and serves as a pre-cursor to home economics courses, which are taken in high school. She teaches students how to use kitchen equipment, the basics of food processing, and creative, critical thinking skills.
Hersh advises all students, “Go with passion, absolute passion in the study of food. If you’re not, there’s no point in doing it. When you are happy, it becomes infectious.” She quips that while she has no idea what her future holds, “ Whatever I’ll be doing, I’ll be happily doing it—and I’m proud and delighted that the Gastronomy program is carrying on so well.”
Celebrating Julia Child's Centenary
The Boston University Metropolitan College Programs in Food, Wine & the Arts will celebrate Julia Child’s centenary over the course of two festive evenings – Tuesday, October 2 and Wednesday, November 7. Visit the program website for further details.
Emily is a gastronomy student and graduate assistant, editing the Gastronomy at BU blog, January-August, 2012. She is also the recipient of a Julia Child Award for Excellence in Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts and a Jacques Pépin award for Scholarship in Gastronomy and Food Studies. Check out her research in food studies, nutrition, and public health on her blog, emilycontois.com.
Minnesota Family Farm Promotes Local Food, One Turkey at a Time
by Katie Peterson
My family has been raising free-range turkeys in southeastern Minnesota for more than 70 years. Prior to the past few years, though, I doubt any of us planned to be involved in any kind of food movement. That changed when my brother returned to our family’s land and built an on-farm store, Ferndale Market, named after my grandparents Fern and Dale who started the farm. Opening the market was a big step in that it not only gave us direct access to consumers, but also allowed us to partner with and sell food from other local farmers and producers.
In the four years that Ferndale Market has been open, my family has become deeply engaged in advocating for local and sustainable food, and supporting the independent farmers and producers who provide it. As just one small part of a much larger effort, it has been exciting to witness consumers’ growing interest in where their food comes from.
Here are just a few of the positive things we see happening with local food right now:
Farm to School
Restaurants have increasingly focused on sourcing their food locally and now many schools are doing the same. The two largest school districts in Minnesota – Minneapolis and St. Paul – have even gotten on board. Some schools have also implemented education efforts to go along with their local sourcing. For example, my brother has served Ferndale Market turkey burgers and traded “Farmer John” baseball cards with elementary students. These types of activities provide opportunities to teach students important lessons about food, nutrition, and agriculture. (To learn more about Minnesota’s Food to School program, check out the The University of Minnesota Extension’s documentary on the subject.)
Farm to Institution
From Target to Best Buy, a number of Minnesota-based corporations are incorporating local food into their employee cafeteria menus. Ferndale Market provides turkey to many of these institutions, thanks in part to its partnership with Bon Appétit Management Company, a food service company committed to sustainable food. Many hospitals and healthcare organizations – perfect sites for nutrition education – also are exploring how they can improve the food they serve. In Minnesota, a committee made up of farmers and hospitals is looking at how they can better work together to provide food that’s healthy for patients and the environment.
Collaboration
Rather than viewing each other as competitors, many independent farmers, food producers, and retailers have banded together. Being in the minority, they know that helping each other succeed will help build a more sustainable food system and have found ways to champion one another. For example, Valley Natural Foods hosted a screening of Food Inc. followed by a panel discussion featuring a variety of people involved in the local food industry. As a more behind the scenes example, when making deliveries to restaurants, Ferndale Market has hauled product for Thousand Hills Cattle Company and Hidden Stream Farm, and they have done the same. Combining loads saves time and reduces carbon footprints, as well as streamlines the receiving process for chefs.
Education
From panel discussions to “Farmer John” baseball cards, education is the common theme. Independent farmers, producers, and retailers know that they can make a living only if they teach consumers why the food they raise, produce, and sell is different. As food corporations increasingly step up their marketing efforts focused on sustainability claims, it is more important than ever for independent farmers and producers to share their stories and boldly convey points of difference.
Over the past few years, a number of people have stopped into Ferndale Market to ask what my grandparents would think of the farm’s evolution. As humble Midwesterners, they likely would be embarrassed to have a store named after them. But as hardworking farmers, who built a life and raised a family on the farm, they would be proud to know it has remained environmentally and economically sustainable into its third generation. As consumers increasingly seek out food grown locally on family farms, we hope it will remain sustainable for many years to come.
Katie Peterson will graduate from the Gastronomy program in September 2012. She writes about food and diabetes on her blog, 1LittlePrick.
Special Fall 2012 BU Gastronomy Course: U.S. Food History with Warren Belasco
If you're still looking for a course to round out your fall schedule, a blended course to suit your lifestyle, or an opportunity to study with one of the world's most well known and respected food studies scholars, you'll find it all in U.S. Food History (ML 610 EL) taught by Dr. Warren Belasco, fall 2012.
The course will meet for two Saturdays in Boston and the rest of the time via online communication. Coursework will include a wide variety of readings, web and in-person discussions, written assignments, ethnographic observations, debates, and other experiential opportunities to explore some of the following questions:
- If we are what we eat (Brillat-Savarin) what are we if we eat American food?
- Why does “eating American” have such a negative connotation?
- Is there an American “cuisine,” and should we applaud or condemn it?
- Is American food getting better or worse?
- Was Grandma a better cook?
- Were John and Karen Hess correct in claiming that we’ve lost our sense of taste? Compared to whom and when?
- How did Americans come to enjoy the world’s cheapest and most abundant food supply, and what was lost along the way?
Interested students can register for the course using the BU Student Link.
Oh You Fancy Huh! BU Gastronomy Students Attend the 2012 Summer Fancy Food Show
by Natalie Shmulik
A few weeks ago I was sent an article entitled “Surviving a Food Festival Without Getting a Tummy Ache” by Eliza Barclay. Unfortunately, I read this article after returning from Washington D.C. to see the Fancy Food Show.
This year, thanks to show director, Heather Paul, seven lucky Gastronomy students attended the 2012 Summer Fancy Food Show. Entering the Goliath of all food events, we were intimidated, overwhelmed and most of all — hungry!
With thousands of exhibitors and two floors of irresistible delicacies ranging from Iranian caviar to Truffle Argon oil, it was easy to be lured into every colorful booth. Gastronomy students quickly dispersed into this sea of edibles. A portion of our group sped ahead to the “What’s New, What’s Hot” trends station, where futuristic packaging and unusual ingredients were featured in glass cabinets. Some skipped over to the limitless cheese tables on the second floor, and others — well, let’s just say the alcohol stations had a fair bit of company.
For me, it was all about the international products, along with a short but sentimental stop in the Canadian fare zone. I needed to try everything. Plates of Italian pastas, pastries from top bakeries in France, and every kind of chocolate imaginable made their way into my anxious hands. No, thank yous were rare words indeed…probably because my mouth was full. In fact, for a few special products, such as Callie’s phenomenal cheddar and chive biscuits, I came back for seconds. For the record, Barclay strongly discourages this behavior in her trade show survival guide.
Even after spending nearly eight hours eating our way through the show, we still had not reached the end point. Clearly, next year will have to be a two-day affair.
Top Trends
- Chia: in cereal, pudding and beverages
- Coconut water
- Greek Yogurt: as ice cream and on granola bars
- Popcorn: a rise in salty and sweet combinations, such as cheddar and caramel
- Energy Drinks: caffeinated water, carbonated beverages, and specialty drinks made from the Coca Leaf
BU Gastronomy Garden Club Sees Prosperous Produce Progress
Post and photos by Aubree DuPlessis
It may be the dog days of summer, but that hasn’t stopped the BU Gastronomy Garden Club from clearing, constructing, and creating their very first garden plot at Fenway Victory Gardens. Equipped with a generous donation from Mahoney’s Garden Center, appearances by summer’s most valuable culinary players – watermelon, tomatoes, and cucumbers – are helping students momentarily forget the heat with daydreams of refreshing granita, cooling gazpacho, and muddled mojitos.
In just five months, students started seedlings in BU’s Greenhouse, built raised beds from scavenged bricks and stones, and successfully transplanted a variety of salad greens, peppers, beans, and squash into their garden plot. Although primarily focused on vegetable production, students also hope to plant a sensory herb and flower garden, as well as create a seating area for picnics, studying, and relaxation.
If you’d like more information on the BU Gastronomy Garden Club or want to help weed, water, and reap some tasty rewards, please contact Aubree DuPlessis.
Food News Round Up: Celebrate and Assess the Half
We recently passed the approximate half-way point of summer, a fact worth celebrating — and a reason to perform a mid-point status check. Are you making it through that reading list? Have you spent enough time at the beach? Have you tried at least half of those recipes you've been marking, saving, and creating?
If not, you have approximately another half to go; plenty of time to fit in everything you planned for your summer. Regardless, you can enjoy these "half and half" edition of Food News Round Up.
Research: 1/2 Science + 1/2 News Reporting
Media coverage on eating behavior research abounds, but the relationship between science and science news is often tenuous. These three studies were reported in the media this week and are presented here with the study or abstract to ensure research integrity.
- Due to perceived anonymity, food orders place online are more fattening, complicated
- Neuroscience study finds fat in foods directly impacts taste perception
- Restaurant meals a bit healthier after menu labeling law
Food Policy: 1/2 Foreign and 1/2 Domestic
Food policy news this week spans both international and US concerns:
- Will food security be Obama’s foreign policy legacy?
- 2012 hottest year on record; FAO debates how much is attributable to livestock
- Africa's looming food crisis could affect 18 million people
- Record drought increases corn prices, gives urgency to farm bill
- Wholesome Wave CEO makes the economic case for Food Stamps
- Could newly enacted school lunch rules result in more wasted food?
Food and Culture: 1/2 the Arts + 1/2 Cuisine
This week provides a veritable smorgasbord of interesting tidbits involving food and culture, divided between the visual and linguistic arts and culinary trends:
- Sport Your Food exhibit combines Olympic spirit, food, and art
- San Francisco chef finds poetry in food and food in poetry
- Hispanics in nursing homes increases along with culture shock in language and food
- Bagels on the rise in Jakarta, India
- Vegan food on the menu for NASA Mars mission
Structure and Motivation: Reading Historic Cookbooks
by Barbara Rotger
culinary collection honorary curator,
Harvard Schlesinger Library
When Barbara Wheaton, honorary curator of the culinary collection at Harvard’s Schlesinger Library, refers to taking a structured approach, she means it. As a participant in her recent seminar on Reading Historic Cookbooks, each day’s work was to have a theme, such as “ingredients” or “cook’s equipment” and each participant was assigned a text to which to apply that theme. It is tempting to dive in to a cookbook and try to take it all in; focusing on a single element at a time ensures a kind of thoroughness that is necessary for an appreciation of the work as a whole.
That meant no conjectures about the publisher’s motives when we were supposed to be focused on ingredients and no thoughtful analysis of cooking equipment when the focus was to be on the structure of the meal. Wheaton further cautioned us as to the limitations of using cookbooks as sources (do not even begin to think that they will tell you what people ate!), and emphasized the need to complement their study with sources such as maps, letters and diaries, art and architecture, and economic data.
The seminar participants, an eclectic group of scholars and practitioners, were eager to delve into the books that Wheaton had selected for the week. We began by drawing lots to learn which cookbooks we would work with each day, texts that ranged from fifteenth century British manuscripts to twentieth century American community cookbooks. With my interest in twentieth century recipe boxes, I hoped for the latter, only to find that I would be starting by examining ingredients in the 1587 edition of Thomas Dawson’s The Good Housewife’s Jewel. Quick to read my mind, Wheaton reminded the group of her “no trading” policy: we were to push our own boundaries, and move out of our own comfort zones.
“To make a tart that is a courage to a man or woman”
And so I proceeded, well outside my comfort zone, with a browser open to the OED, trying to draw conclusions from the ingredients listed in the Jewel. My eyes strained to decipher the blackletter script, with its long s’s that look like “f”s and my brain struggled with non-standard spelling. For my presentation to the group the next day, I settled on a recipe “To make a tart that is a courage to a man or woman.” In this kind of work you can look for patterns, or look for outliers; the ingredients for the tart provide examples of both. Typical flavorings, including rose water, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and mace, appear in this and many other recipes in the book, while a few ingredients stand out. The recipe calls for a “potato” which struck me as a very early occurrence of a new-world food, until my excitement was tempered those better versed in this time period, who explained that a sweet potato was what the author had in mind.
I was similarly stumped by the call for “the brains for three or four cock sparrows” in the recipe. (I have examined my share recipe boxes and not one sparrow brain—male or female—has been used as an ingredient.) As I struggled to explain this in my presentation, Barbara Wheaton, with a twinkle in her eye, silently but clearly mouthed the word “aphrodisiac” to the rest of the group. Perhaps the structured approach has its limits: to understand some ingredients one must also consider the structure of the meal—and the motivations of the cook!
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Recipe "translation": To Make a tart that is a courage to man or woman
Take two quinces and two or three burre roots and a potato and pare your potato and scrape your roots and put them into a quart of wine and let them boil until they be tender, and put in an ounce of dates and when they be boiled tender drain them through a strainer, wine and all, and then put in the yolks of eight eggs and the brains of three or four cock sparrows and strain them into the other a little rose water, and seeth them all with sugar, cinnamon and ginger and cloves and mace, and put in a little sweet butter and set I upon a chaffing dish of coals between two platters, and so let it boil until it be something big.
Barbara is a Gastronomy program alumna, mother of two, and the Gastronomy Program coordinator since October 2011. Read more about her life and work.
Street Smart: Joining Boston Brunchers at B Street
by Natalie Shmulik
What does one eat for breakfast when anticipating a 2:30 pm complimentary brunch at B-Street in Newton? This being my first time joining the notorious Boston Brunchers, I anticipated a modest one plate meal and decided to start my morning with the usual abundant breakfast. Oops.
We were immediately greeted with a specialty sampler menu and large cocktail pitchers to whet our appetites. After sipping on a spicy Bloody Mary and a peachy Rosé Sangria, the last of the brunch bunch arrived and food began to rapidly leave the kitchen.
The featured menu items are diverse and international, served in appetizing geometrical shapes, which complement the clean and modern space. The feast began with triangled Quesadillas stuffed with tender steak, scrambled eggs, and melted cheddar. Next came a spanakopita-inspired spinach and feta pie. The proportion of spinach to feta to flaky filo was just right and unlike the Greek economy, this dish was rich and promising.
Most exciting was the challah French toast, which rapidly disappeared. I am a strong believer in three course brunches, complete with sweet and savory bites. This dish was exactly the right amount of sweet needed to break up the bordering plates of savory fare. Challah was the right choice with a crisp and marbled cover blanketing the soft and moist center. Although I could have done without the slightly chewy outer crust, I thoroughly enjoyed the caramelized apple topping complete with ample flecks of cinnamon bubbling up from a pool of pure maple syrup.
Following a breakfast flatbread complete with bacon, eggs, and garlic, we were given the option of choosing a “main” dish. Feeling the weight of the previous four courses, it seemed natural to share the Turkey Hash. Served right in a cast iron skillet, the hash offered big chunks of veg, meat and potatoes, bound to satisfy any hungry brunch-goer looking for a good fix.
Finally, just when we thought we were done, a surprise of three house-made desserts crashed down on our table and suddenly, our appetites slavishly returned. Fresh blueberry crostata, a towering baked Alaska with a divine pillow of meringue, and everyone’s favorite strawberry and rhubarb crumble, widened our eyes and our stomachs ever so slightly.
The company was as delightful as the food. These bloggers come from all around and everyone has an interesting story to tell. This group is fun, inviting, and most importantly, they all love food. As we passed the time with great conversation, slowly nibbling on the minimal remains of dessert, we were greeted by the bashful chef who hinted at an exciting new selection of goodies that will be added to the brunch menu. Looks like I’m going to have to go back for seconds.
Photo Essay: A Chocolate Maker Journeys to the Cacao Source
by Lucia Austria
This past April, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Dominican Republic to learn how cacao beans are produced, thanks to my employer, Taza Chocolate. Taza prides itself on being a “bean to bar” company, so I associate the smell of “farm” and “cacao” with the kilo sacks of dried beans we store in the factory, ready to be roasted, ground, and made into chocolate. I never thought I’d have the chance to visit the cacao farm and fermentery where our beans are from!
I’ve learned that it takes a lot of time, labor, and love to produce cacao beans for chocolate consumption. The farmer gives much care to his trees, which require ample moisture and shade from the hot tropical sun. The pods are also prone to fungal blights, so constant attention is necessary. Within each pod are the beans, surrounded by sweet, delicious flesh called “baba.” The beans themselves are bitter and require a week of fermentation to bring out the fruity notes of each bean. I visited Taza’s main source for fermented beans, a small cooperative called La Red Guaconejo, just outside of the town of Nagua. The fermenter’s attention and skill to the process is crucial to developing the right bacteria to bring out the beans’ flavors. They are then dried on large outdoor beds, packed, and shipped right to Somerville, MA.
Food News Round Up: Big Food and a Big Foodie
As we bask (and sweat) in the heat of July, this edition of Food News Round Up focuses on two big things — 'big food' as discussed by the Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine and the passing of a noted foodie, Nora Ephron — as well as a smattering of other food news.
Make sure to read this post somewhere cool and pleasant.
PLoS Medicine’s ‘Big Food’ Series
In late June and early July 2012, the PLoS Medicine Big Food series examined and debated the health impact of the multinational food and beverage industry that exerts huge and concentrated market power across the globe. International and multi-disciplinary in focus, it marks one of first times such issues have been examined in the general medical literature.
- Access the entire PLoS Medicine Big Food series of papers
- PLoS Medicine speaker, Kelly Brownell, calls for big food regulation to curb obesity
- Q&A with David Stuckler – guest editor of PLoS Medicine series on Big Food
Remembering Nora Ephron
From food writing to food references in her films to her own love of cooking and eating, Nora Ephron put food front and center in a variety of ways.
- NY Times: Nora Ephron never forgot the food
- Huffington Post: Nora Ephron's love affair with food
- Nora Ephron's most memorable food quotes
- Nora Ephron's Epicurious interview
- Nora Ephron's personally compiled cookbook
And in other foods news
- Fast food diet linked to poor health in Singapore, finds U of Minnesota study
- Hospital food ‘revolution’ takes root in Canada
- Jamie Oliver calls UK education secretary’s school food investigation unnecessary
- Food waste, greening diets become EU policy goals
- Debating the local food movement
- English revival of simple twentieth century cooking afoot