{"id":3927,"date":"2014-02-13T10:53:02","date_gmt":"2014-02-13T14:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gastronomyatbu.com\/?p=3927"},"modified":"2018-03-28T17:52:55","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T21:52:55","slug":"career-advice-on-food-writing-and-culinary-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/2014\/02\/13\/career-advice-on-food-writing-and-culinary-tourism\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Advice on Food Writing and Culinary Tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Carlos Olaechea<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that Gastronomy students have a passion for food, but sometimes it helps to have some professional insight into how we can turn that passion into a career.\u00a0 With many of our peers taking advantage of Boston Globe dining editor Sheryl Julian\u2019s food writing class, and increased interest in visiting places for their food and beverages as much as their sights, a career in food writing and culinary tourism is on the minds of many students.\u00a0 On Thursday, February 6th<\/sup>, 2014, the BU Gastronomy Students Association<\/a> hosted a discussion panel that addressed those career paths.\u00a0 The event featured Catherine Smart and Peggy Hernandez, both reporters for the Boston Globe\u2019s dining section, as well as Lauren Cicione, who organizes wine tours in Italy for connoisseurs.<\/p>\n

\"\"Catherine Smart is a graduate of the BU Gastronomy Master\u2019s program, and, when she is not submitting articles to the Globe, she is working hard as a personal chef.\u00a0 As most writing gigs are freelance and don\u2019t provide a steady source of income, Smart says it\u2019s a good idea to have another job.\u00a0 She is thrilled with her personal chef business, which she finds both enjoyable and lucrative, and recommends students take the Culinary Arts Laboratory if they wish to follow in her footsteps.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Smart also advises that persistence and networking are key in developing a career in food writing, with which Peggy Hernandez couldn\u2019t agree more.\u00a0 A longtime Globe veteran, Hernandez began her career as a news reporter covering \u201ccrime and grime\u201d in the late 80s and early 90s before her husband\u2019s job had them moving abroad.\u00a0 Upon returning to the US, Hernandez began freelancing for the Globe\u2019s dining section and is known for her in-depth coverage of food trends. Both Hernandez and Smart strongly advise writers to join networking sites such as Muck Rack<\/a> and LinkedIn <\/a>to help brand themselves as serious writers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lauren Cicione got her start in culinary tourism quite by accident.\u00a0 Working in the New York City art world, she was no stranger to wining and dining. \u00a0Once the recession hit, the market for fine art dwindled, and Cicione decided that a sojourn in Italy would be ideal.\u00a0 It was there that she befriended small wine producers in Piedmont and Tuscany, and, before long, had an exclusive business organizing Italian wine tours for the most discerning connoisseurs.<\/p>\n

Like Smart and Hernandez, Cicione says that networking is key, as the majority of her clients are referred to her by word-of-mouth.\u00a0 She also says that it is important to do your research when planning to start a business: look at your competitors to see what they\u2019re doing and how much they\u2019re charging, and don\u2019t forget that your time and knowledge are valuable.\u00a0 Beware of selling yourself short, while you want to be reasonable, you have to keep in mind that you are offering your talents and, especially to those in the Gastronomy program, your educational background.<\/p>\n

The best news is, there are many people who are willing to help you along the way.\u00a0 Professors are a great resource to help launch your career, and many people are more than happy to offer their assistance or advice.<\/p>\n

For those who missed the panel discussion, a digital recording is available on request by emailing gastronomyatbu@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Catherine Smart<\/b>
\n<\/b>smartentertaining.com<\/a>
\nLauren Cicione<\/b>
\ntuscanauteur.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Carlos Olaechea\u00a0was born in Peru and spent most of his life in Miami, FL before moving to Boston for the gastronomy program. \u00a0He was the dining columnist for his college newspaper and the Miami dining editor for\u00a0Joonbug.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Carlos Olaechea There\u2019s no doubt that Gastronomy students have a passion for food, but sometimes it helps to have some professional insight into how we can turn that passion into a career.\u00a0 With many of our peers taking advantage of Boston Globe dining editor Sheryl Julian\u2019s food writing class, and increased interest in visiting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14625,"featured_media":3957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9,11,19],"tags":[31,151,423],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3927"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14625"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3927"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8332,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3927\/revisions\/8332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}