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Blog #1 - How Did I Get Here?


My mom once told me that there are some people who just eat to live, and some people who live to eat. I come from a family of people who live to eat.


There are no professional chefs in my family, but all of us love food, and knowing how to cook was just a side effect of that love. I learned to cook mostly from my mom, who on holidays makes the jewish classics like rugelach, latkes, brisket and tzimmes, and kugel, and year round makes everything from mac and cheese, to curry chicken. She would never call herself an amazing chef, but she knows how to cook, and she knows what tastes good. From my dad I ate and learned his specialties, flipping perfect pancakes and delicious omelettes, and of course being in charge of the grill, a common favorite of many dads across America. My dad grew up in West Virginia, so naturally his mom, my grandma, has spent her life cooking as cheaply as possible, canning and cooking vegetables from her garden, and making amazing biscuits and gravy. I never met my grandfather on my mom’s side, but from what I’ve been told, he was the most passionate about food out of anyone. He loved the culture of going to nice restaurants to try an amazing dish, and then he hosted incredible dinner parties for his friends, where he often cooked dishes that were recreations of what he had tried at a restaurant.

I learned a lot about food from my family, but everything else about cooking I learned from television. I remember growing up watching shows like Emeril Live, and the original Iron Chef. Then came even more, like Rachel Ray, Good Eats, Iron Chef America, and Chopped. I was enthralled by everything I saw. There was a brief period of time where I considered going to culinary school, and becoming a chef. However, the high-pressure and fast-paced work environment it seemed that being a professional chef required, was everything I didn’t want my future career to be. I didn’t want to deal with yelling and rushing around a kitchen and worrying that everything was ready in time. Cooking was supposed to be fun, and working in a restaurant didn’t seem fun at all.

Being a cinema major came from, unsurprisingly, a love of movies and television, as well as some experience with the performing arts in the form of live theatre, and a fascination with behind-the-scenes footage of how films were made. I decided to minor in marketing because that seemed like a much more employable use of the communications classes I took. My favorite part of filmmaking is the video editing, but I’d be happy working on and aspect of the production of any video media at this point.

While my filmmaking skills have been growing, my cooking skills have been growing as well, and I’ve never lost my passion for food. It’s only recently that I’ve realized that I’ve realized the growing intersection between my two passions. Food shows are more prominent than ever, not just on The Food Network, but all over youtube and Netflix. Now I’ve realized my ultimate dream would be to work on producing a show or film about food.

That was my very long-winded way of explaining why I joined this class. I promise I don’t normally write this much, but I can’t help but be excited about a class centered around my two favorite things. There will be a lot for me to learn from this class, as most of my previous experience with food in media has been with non-fiction/documentaries, so I’m excited to learn the ways food can be connected to the narrative and the themes of a film. I’m also not much of an expert on world cultures, having lived in America for my entire life, and what better way to learn about culture than through the most delicious things a culture has to offer.

As for my favorite food film, I haven't seen that many until now, but I’d have to say it’s Ratatouille. It’s message is beautifully simple; Anyone can cook.



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