This episode we chat with Jenn de la Vega, a New York-based cookbook author, editor, food stylist and caterer. We talk about cooking, eating, writing, why we especially love these 3 things, seeing our story in others and why nothing beats a classic Filipino "silog" with fried rice and a runny egg.
Jenn has written for TASTE Cooking, worked as a creator-in-residence at Kickstarter, and won a scholarship with the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
Time to step into her kitchen!
Show notes
04:25 About
05:35 From competitions to a cookbook
06:55 The thrill of it all
08:40 "Showdown" was born
10:15 Filipino notes and a nod to the past
11:10 Bake that lumpia chip!
11:55 "I'm not just cooking for me"
12:15 A spectrum of taste
13:25 Embracing new culinary ecosystems
14:25 Longganisa and champorado
15:20 Contextualizing the food we grow up with
16:00 "I'm influenced by a lot of things"
17:35 My story and your story matters
20:40 8 years of throwdowns
21:05 Winning a bacon challenge
23:55 Childhoods at Costco and seeing yourself in others
24:45 Put A Egg On It
26:15 Zine themes
26:30 On shame and mung beans
27:10 Dinner conversations
28:25 The allure of an egg yolk
30:25 Foodways of Iloilo
32:10 Everyone loves adobo and chicken wings
FIND THE FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT HERE.
Links for this episode
Learn more about Jenn on her website, Randwiches, where you’ll find links to her portfolio and blog. Don’t miss her epic food styling recipe series.
Order the tenth anniversary issue of Put A Egg On It. I promise you won’t regret it. With 160 pages of “PICKLED!” stories and recipes, how could you?