“Are you going to Caramelize that meal?”
Time and time again, I’m asked how it all began. How “caramelized” became a verb for food writing instead of a culinary technique for…onions.
Like a recipe, the evolution of my food blog platform began three years ago with only two accountable ingredients: writing skills and a Kitchen Aid. I owe the first ingredient to both my father, whose rabbinical writing captivates even the most uninspired of souls, and my St. Mary’s high school English department, whose teachers meticulously instilled a balanced method of grammar and analytical learning. The Kitchen Aid, though it currently mismatches my townhome’s color palette, represented my first investment in a fulfilling and passionate niche of cooking.
I am not a graduate of cooking school, but I am a concierge of two contrasting yet aligning cities of old and new, innovative and historic. Austin, where my food-writing career began, is a laboratory of fast-paced, addictive creative and culinary production. The city introduced me to the vast field of dining and branding through a 150-member blogger alliance and an internship with lifestyle blogger Camille Styles. Memphis, where my food writing now evolves, invoked a challenge to re-energize my historic hometown with a new spin beyond barbecue and soul food. The city’s unmatched roots instill in me a force of motivation and innovation.
Read more of my story in the Winter Issue of Edible Memphis, available at the following locations:
387 Pantry 83 at Madison Hotel McEwen’s Cooper St 20/20 Church Health Center Whole Foods – Poplar Whole Foods – Germantown Lunchbox Eats Maximos on Broad City and State Curbside Casseroles Interim Restaurant Napa Café Memphis Botanic Garden All Public Libraries L’ecole Culinaire Renaissance Farms
Photos by Justin Fox Burks. Thanks again to Edible Memphis for the opportunity to share my story.