Last week, we kicked off our new Foodista Five series with Foodista CEO Sheri Wetherell, and this week we turn our focus to Marissa Brassfield, the Director of Content Strategy at Foodista. Marissa is a Ridiculously Efficient™ productivity expert and communication efficiency specialist with over 7,000 articles and 30,000,000 views for sites like Trend Hunter, Celebs.com, LifeScript and Yahoo. Read on to learn more about Marissa's favorite food memories.
1. How did you get involved in food writing? What's your food background?
During my junior or senior year at the University of Pennsylvania, I took an upper-level creative writing class that required us to head out into Philly and write narratives about various places, people and events. For one assignment, I headed to the Italian market and ended up talking with one of the cheesemongers at Di Bruno Bros. For another, I sat in the Reading Terminal Market for an afternoon. The more time I spent absorbing Philly's great food culture, the hungrier I got to write about it. The following semester, I began writing restaurant reviews for 34th Street Magazine and interned at Philadelphia STYLE Magazine. A highlight from my internship at STYLE was co-writing a food feature with the senior editor on specialty salts and sugars.
As far as my food background, I worked for the Starr Restaurant Organization in Philly as an undergrad and went on to open one of its Atlantic City restaurants as a front-of-house manager. Part of our management training entailed four weeks in the back of the house, doing everything from prepping food and checking in deliveries to working every station on the line (including the grill station on Saturday night!). It was intense, but I gained such a great understanding of all the hard work, care and dedication that goes into a meal at an upscale restaurant. I also learned a ton of techniques that have come in handy at home, like basic knife skills, how to make hollandaise from scratch, and how to build sauces and glazes.
2. What inspires you to create?
Food has an ability to heal, transform, transport and comfort us. I love to eat delicious food, of course, but I'm particularly inspired by the creativity within this industry. Some of my favorite pieces I've written for Foodista are about offbeat yet innovative ideas like crazy theme restaurants, clothing made from food byproducts and one-of-a-kind baked goods.
3. What is your favorite thing to prepare?
Anything I can cook outside on the grill, because that means I get to soak up some sun. These days, it's usually steaks and veggies, but I love making sauces of any kind from scratch.
4. What's your fondest food memory?
Growing up, I can count the times we dined out on one hand: it was all about cooking at home. I always had an age-appropriate job to do in the kitchen, but I distinctly remember the first time I stirred chopped onions and garlic into a skillet with melted butter. Now, whenever I catch a whiff of that intoxicating scent, I'm instantly 6 again, standing on a stool in front of my parents' tiny white stove.
5. Which fruit or vegetable is the best metaphor for your personality, and why?
A pineapple: sweet on the inside with a tough-to-crack exterior. In capable hands, I'm easy to manage. I play nicely with savory, spicy or sweet flavors, but I can be a bit prickly. :)
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Comments
February 10, 2012
What a nice interview. I was at the Reading Terminal Market last Monday. The sights and aromas are intoxicating to say the least. There is always a buzz of contented diners here. And with Chinatown one block away- always good food to be found. And fabulous ingredients!