Irena Chalmers is the patron saint of food jobs. But Carolyn, you may be asking, does the world really need such a holy being? Is it necessary for one person to toil tirelessly for the good of culinary students and perplexed career changers everywhere, a martyr for the meek but pure in heart that are knocking at the door to the professional food world, but still not sure how to enter it? I say yes, and bless her heart for it.
Soon after I graduated from The French Culinary Institute in 2009, I attended a food media seminar hosted by the school that featured a panel of media luminaries, including Irena. It was a pretty focused and serious affair jam-packed with info about how to find a non-cooking job in the food world, something a lot of us recent grads and current students were eager to do in this very tight and seemingly ever-shrinking market (note: turns out this isn’t true, just the opposite, it’s one of the few sectors where there’s been job growth, but in early 2009 everybody was freaking out). Irena’s little speech focused on two things, finding a niche and taking risks, and was peppered with anecdotes about people who created opportunities for themselves by focusing on very specific skills or interests, like the student who loved to shop and became a tabletop buyer for restaurants. Irena, who looks and sounds like a sweeter, gentler sort of baby-faced version of Dame Judy Dench, suggested cruise ships as a possible source of food jobs for those who love to travel: “And as an added benefit, on a ship there are so many interesting people to sleep with.” Most of the crowd was silent for some reason, so my booming laugh turned heads but I didn’t care, it was just too flippin’ funny.
Taking all the importance of networking advice at face value, a week or two later I sent Irena an email introducing myself, and she quickly responded with the loveliest message saying she was very impressed by my resume, and would be delighted to help me in any way she could. The morning of our scheduled phone talk was not a good one for me; I had been up half the night for some reason I’ve since forgotten, and that morning I had gotten a flat tire on the way back from dropping my daughter at school. Looking back, I wish that, after a sleep-deprived night and hectic morning, I had taken a moment to wrestle my brain back from my scattered and inarticulate evil twin (I call her Brandee), even if it meant postponing our conversation. Despite Irena’s incisive questioning about my interests and objectives, I was all over the place and incapable of spelling out my goals because frankly I didn’t know what they were. There was the writing thing (magazines? web sites? cookbooks? recipe testing?) and there was the cooking trajectory (catering? personal or private chef?), but then again I’d also been toying with the idea of teaching…The longer the conversation went on the dimmer I sounded, and this was Irene Chalmers, beloved CIA instructor, renowned wit, gifted speechwriter, founding member seminal culinary institutions, godmother of the single subject cookbook for godsake (and not least of all the subject of the I Love Irena Chalmers fanclub on Facebook).
I’m sure Irena was left wondering if this fairly accomplished, middle-aged food writer wannabe was dealing with some kind of head injury, but nonetheless she had some useful and inventive suggestions, as well as a few cover letter/proposal type exercises for me, all of which she’s still waiting for. So…I kinda dropped the ball with dear, generous Irene, but I did go out and buy her book Food Jobs: 150 Great Jobs from the Quirky to the Sublime, and it’s proven to be as dense with knowledge, experience, and humor as she is. There are literally 150 food-related jobs detailed, many with extras, tips and sidebars written by professionals in that field, and each chapter contains book and web site resources for further exploration. If you are considering a career in obesity research, food anthropology, or mushroom growing but aren’t sure how to get started, Irena’s taken the first step for you. She also writes a food jobs blog that, unlike so many, is updated regularly with new resources, trends, interviews, and any number of odd and amusing things like why it’s time to buy a goat.
Oh, and a final little factoid about the book: it was awarded the 2008 Best Food Book for Professionals in the World by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards committee. It was selected from more than 6,000 submitted titles in 40 languages from 107 countries. That’s right, the world. Time to take your good works on the road, Irena? Think of all the lovely things you’ll get to eat if you do.
Do you dream of becoming a food professional? What kind? Is there some other passion that you would want to combine it with?
Although Carolyn Grifel has been cooking, baking, and devouring cookbooks since she was old enough to read, it took her four decades to finally devote herself to professional cooking. She received a degree from The French Culinary Institute in 2009, while working at Epicurious.com. Since graduating she’s been a chef for Sweet Deliverance, as well as the executive chef at the historic TA Ranch in Buffalo, Wyoming. She’s currently a private chef for a family of five in NYC, and the enchanted mother of a 9-year-old named Stella.
