gastronomy
I recently graduated from the gastronomy program at Boston University, which was cofounded by Jacques Pepin and Julia Child. According to the program's website: "Students in the program examine the role of food in historical and contemporary societies from a variety of perspectives—gaining a holistic view of the impact of food, food science, and nutrition on world civilization." So that's what I did.
I researched, among other things: the final meal choices of death row inmates, food spaces as gender boundaries, the creation of the modern chef during the rise of haute cuisine, cranberries, food choice and satisfaction, globalization and the wine industry, and Tanzania. I also have certificates in the culinary arts, baking arts, fundamentals of wine, and cheese. Finally, I'm ServSafe certified, so maybe you won't get listeria if you eat my food.
And now that I'm done, I'm on the hunt for a job. If you know of anyone looking for a gastronomer, send me an email.
background
While I was a student in Boston, I worked for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Before that I worked for a really great group of people at a big bank in Chicago as a sort of jack-of-all-trades, and before that I was working for an internet advertising agency in Chicago that, sadly, was bought out, packed up and moved to California. All of this was a switch from my early experience in politics, where I worked as the media/public relations coordinator for a state senate campaign in Indiana and as a field organizer for a presidential campaign in Iowa and Nevada. I have my B.A. in magazine journalism (with a minor in sociology) from David Letterman's alma mater, Ball State University (named after the Ball Brothers who founded the Ball Corporation which manufactures the Ball canning jars - check out the Ball Jar Museum in Muncie, Indiana the next time you visit).
food likes and dislikes
My favorite foods include crusty bread, french toast, cheese, pierogi, pretty much every pasta dish, creme brulee, olive oil, dark chocolate, oysters, crab cakes, Nutella, almonds, caramelized onions, lemons, limes, Tanqueray gibsons, mussels, banana cream pie, key lime pie, crepes, breakfast, pizza, Cabernet Sauvignon, fall and winter food, rabbit, artichokes, french onion soup, Tim Tams, Three Floyd's Gumballhead beer, tomato soup, smoked things, morel mushrooms, pumpkin, butterscotch, caipirinhas, tomatoes, watermelon, and toast.
Some foods I don't love: sour cream, cream cheese, avocado, cottage cheese, and rice pudding.
The one food that I can't stand: olives.
other stuff
Band: Mother Mother
Composer: Philip Glass
Book: White Noise by Don Delillo
Cookbook: Snowflakes and Schnapps by Jane Lawson
Nonfiction Book About Food: Heat by Bill Buford
Movie: Last Holiday
Television show: The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
Cooking show: The Two Fat Ladies
Comic: Maria Bamford
Season: Autumn
Magazine: The New Yorker