About

Okay, so here is the scenario, allow me to set the stage… A year ago May (2010) I graduated with my Ph.D. in Anthropology with a focus on Historical Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania. Although I trained as a zooarchaeologist, a specialist who analyzes animal bones from archaeological sites, my true passion throughout graduate school was always for food. My dissertation explored foods in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Philadelphia from both an archaeological and culinary historical perspective. I examined animal bones as the remnants of past meals to explore what people were actually eating in the past, and then turned to written materials (cookbooks, diaries, letters, account books, traveler’s accounts, etc.) to tell me how people prepared these foods, what the meals looked like, and what the overall food landscape of the city of Philadelphia was at that time. If you would like to read more about this fascinating topic, here is a link to my dissertation: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/103/

Although I have been out of school for a little while now, I have not yet been able to find a job that seems to suit. Instead I actually work six jobs and run around like a mad crazy person most of the time. But one thing I do know, I want to be more involved with food! And another thing I know, I want to live in Paris for at least a little while.

I had a minor medical scare a few months ago and though it is not serious, it got me to thinking, what are the things that I would prioritize in my life if I knew, say for the sake of argument, I only had a year left to live? The two things that came most clearly to mind were that (1) I want to move to Paris and (2) I want to get a dog.

Living in Paris, in and of itself, would, however, not be enough for me. I would get bored by the end of the first week. If I want to stay there some time, I need a purpose, and preferably one that is closely tied to food. So, the thought occurred to me, that a logical choice would be to go to cooking school. After giving it a little thought and giving my bank account a serious perusal, I decided that was exactly what I was going to do, apply to culinary school. This is not for the whole shebang mind you, just a “basic cuisine” course, which lasts for 10 weeks. [Following on others who have written about their culinary school adventures in Paris, I will not be mentioning the name of the school I will be attending, but you can probably guess which one it is.]

I applied for the course and heard back about 6 weeks later that I had been accepted. And low and behold, I am on my way to Paris in mid-March! I am so excited I can’t even tell you. This is going to be quite the adventure. Yes, my high-school French will need some serious brushing up between now and then, and I have a lot of work commitments to fulfill by the time I leave the country, but I am looking forward to the challenges and the opportunities.

What are my goals here? Part of the decision to apply to culinary school was that I would like to get more into food writing and editing as I move forward with my career. The food editorial job postings typically ask for applicants who have a bachelors degree and a culinary degree. I am hoping to be able to trade my Ph.D. plus 3 months of culinary school for these requirements. Also, as a food anthropologist, and that is truly what I consider myself to be, I am extremely interested in the connections between food and identity. Everyone knows the famous Brillat-Savarin quote “tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are” (or sometimes translated as “you are what you eat”). For me, the connections between identity, whether it be on a personal, community, town/city, or national level, and what people eat in both the past and the present need to be further investigated. Food is embedded with so many messages and it is through its close and thoughtful examination that we can begin to unpack these meanings. Because France has, and has had for some time, a very strong connection between food and identity, so much so that the French cuisine is codified, examining these connections in a country with such strong culinary entitlement will hopefully help me to better tease out the dynamics of the relationship between food and identity.

This blog is my attempt to chronicle my adventures leading up to and throughout the course of my culinary school adventures in Paris. I hope to be able to provide some new insights into this experience through the eyes of a food anthropologist and I hope that you will find it both informative and engaging. I look forward to your feedback as this project develops.