I cannot remember when I realized that my favorite room in the house was the kitchen; I possess an innate attraction to all things culinary that has been a part of my identity as long as I can recall.

 

I was approximately two years old when my dad snapped the first photo of me at the stove cooking, smiling over a pot of strawberry jam. From that age on, I was not attracted to toys or cartoons, rather kitchen appliances and the Food Network. The chefs on TV did more than entertain me; they were my idols and my inspiration.

 

For my tenth birthday, I begged for cooking classes at Sur la Table and a new rolling pin. By age 12, I had perfected Italian meringue. When I turned 15 years old, I was already working my first job as an assistant pastry chef at a small restaurant down the road from my house.

 

In the beginning, I loved cooking because it involved getting my hands messy and creating edible art, but as I got older, I learned that the consumption and preparation of food plays a larger role in the world than most people give it credit for. 

 

Based on a description of my passion, one may think that the place for me would be culinary school, not a big ten university. However, my passion for cooking has blossomed into an appreciation and fascination of the role of food in the world. Food is more than sustenance: it significantly impacts society, politics, culture, nature, evolution- the world as we know it. 

 

I am the creator of two things: food, and words. I study Cultural Anthropology (food anthropology being my area of expertise), Sustainable Food Systems, and Writing at the University of Michigan. Writing is the way that I tie all that I think, discover and, learn about Anthropology, Food Systems, and the culinary arts together and communicate it to the world. 

 

Aside from cooking, I spend my time of leisure reading, listening to NPR, running, second-hand-store shopping, outdoor adventuring, and pursuing my quest for the perfect latte.