30 Under 30: Futurist Foodies

Name: Kamran Siddiqi
Location: New Jersey
Age: 19
Food Business: The Sophisticated Gourmet, food blog
Position: Food Writer
Website: sophisticatedgourmet.com

Kamran Siddiqi doesn’t think it’s at all odd that hoards of moms and aunts all over the globe read and attempt the recipes featured on his blog, Sophisticatedgourmet.com. Some people would question his success as a male teen food blogger, but Siddiqi has found the food community to be welcoming and supportive of his editorial voice and crisp photos. Siddiqi recently celebrated his website’s two-year anniversary with a whimsical yellow cake. With 72 comments on his anniversary post, there’s no doubt that readers have wholly embraced Siddiqi.

When did you first get into food? And who were your biggest influences?
“I’ve been in the kitchen since I can remember. I’ve always been surrounded by good food, it was almost natural that I write about it all and share it with others who love food, as well. My biggest influence comes from my family. I am of Asian and European descent, so my influences come from all over the globe. My family is my biggest influence because whenever we’re standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the kitchen, we’re always teaching each other something new about food.”

What makes the food community unique?
“I feel that other communities aren’t as welcoming as the food community. We all share a strong love for food and for sharing. I feel that other communities aren’t as welcoming and open.”

What do you enjoy most about your work? And what are you most passionate about?
“Most of all, I enjoy the kind emails and comments that I get about recipes that I’ve tested several times. I am passionate about sharing great recipes and about writing and photographing it all, but I am post passionate about cooking and baking it all. After a long day at school, I run into the kitchen to cook and bake. It’s how I get my therapy.”

If you could describe your style with three words, what would they be and why?
“Musician. Painter. Sharer. There is always music being made in the kitchen. I paint words on paper with each story that I share. I share stories, recipes, and food with others.”

What do you hope your audience takes away from your work?
“If anything, I want them to know that scratch cooking isn’t always a fuss, and that anyone can bake. It just takes a bit of patience, and of course, a craving.”

We’ve heard that many folks in the food biz don’t eat nearly as well as home as they do at work. Is that true for you? What’s a typical weeknight dinner at home like?
“I can say that I eat pretty well each day. A typical weeknight dinner is usually something quick, rustic, and no-fuss. Usually, I’ll make a few Parathas or some roti and a vegetable dish, or I’ll cook some lamb chops and an afghani-style brown rice. I adore cooking with Basmati rice, because it’s tasty and it cooks rather quickly compared to other rice.”

What three tools should any self-respecting home cook have in their kitchen?
“A good chef’s knife, a cast-iron skillet, and a rolling pin.”

Name: Tessa Arias
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Age: 20
Food Business: Handle the Heat, food blog
Position: Blogger
Website: www.handletheheat.com

It’s difficult to stand out in a sea of food blogs. Tessa Arias knows this all too well, but she started her blog, Handletheheat.com, in 2009 anyway. A communications student in Arizona with a passion for good food, Arias collected and perfected a stock of her favorite recipes accessible to beginner cooks. Tutorials range from “How to Purchase a Knife” to “How to Oven-fry Bacon.” Arias has garnered a consistently growing fan base by providing full recipes, recipe rundowns, and the context of her meal in an energetic voice. Though her age may be considered an obstacle, readers seem to be attracted to her youthful enthusiasm for a simple yet scrumptious meal.

Why did you first get into the online food community?
“I started my blog as a way to document my experiences in the kitchen. I was becoming increasingly interested in food and food media, spending all my free time in the kitchen or watching the Food Network, reading recipe magazines, and perusing food blogs. After having been an avid reader of blogs like 101cookbooks.com, SimplyRecipes.com, and cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com, I decided to start my own food blog.”
 
What makes the food community unique from other fields of work?
“To me, food is one of the most intimate affairs a group of people can share. Every food blogger I've met in person has a seemingly tangible passion for what they do, making the food community welcoming and inspirational. At the same time, it can also be extremely competitive, which only pushes us to be better.”

What challenges do you face in the food community?
“There are a lot of food-related websites out there. A lot. It's difficult to find something to offer that will keep readers coming back to your site instead of all the others. Not to mention the fact that because I'm so young, I'm often not taken seriously by people browsing my site or I'm overlooked for freelance positions.”

What do you enjoy most about your work?
“Being a part of the online food community has been one of the best experiences of my life. Getting to meet so many lovely and like-minded people has been utterly exhilarating. I also love hearing when my readers have successfully tried my recipes and shared the food with friends and family.”

What do you hope your audience takes away from your work?
“I hope people leave my site with inspiration and excitement to get into the kitchen. I hope people end up remembering me as someone who is young yet knowledgeable about fresh and fun cooking and baking.”

How does your hometown influence your work?
“Having lived in Arizona for most of my life, I haven't experienced much in the way of fine dining, trendy food, or exotic ingredients simply because it's not typically available. This has helped to mold my food philosophy in simple ingredients put together to make sensational food.”

What three tools should any self-respecting home cook have in their kitchen?
“An instant-read thermometer to register the internal temperatures of any poultry or meat for perfectly cooked food every time. A good-quality, sharp chef's knife that can tackle any prep work. A pair of tongs, seems simple but not a day goes by where I don't use mine.”

Name: Joseph McClure
Location: Brooklyn, New York, and Detroit, Michigan
Age: 30
Food Business: McClure’s Pickles, specialty food manufacturer
Position: Co-Founder
Website: mcclurespickles.com

Gourmet is a term ascribed to all sorts of food products, most recently describing food trucks. But cupboard staples are going gourmet as well. Joseph McClure’s specialty pickles are bringing a new spin on an old item. And this is quite an old item, indeed. McClure and his brother use their grandmother’s recipe to season and prepare each hand-packed jar. McClure’s pickles come in a spicy or garlic and dill variety. They also sell relishes in the same varieties and a spicy Bloody Mary mix. Committed to the quality of its products, McClure Pickles items are made with farm fresh, hand-sliced cucumbers.

When and why did you first get into the food business?
“We use to rotate houses in Michigan every summer canning. Sometimes it was at Grandma and Grandpa's place, sometimes at our parents’ place. My dad made sure we made pickles every year, though, and wouldn't let a summer go by without putting up a few quarts.”

What challenges do you face in the food industry?  
“There is a lot of competition, so you need to find your niche and stick with it.”

What are you most passionate about?
“Creating something new and working hard.”

What advice can you give readers who are interested in supporting local and sustainable agriculture?  
“Seems like it's only in the last 100 or so years that we haven't supported local and sustainable agriculture as much. Best advice might to be to ask your grandmother what her mother use to do and stick with that.”

What do you do to make yourself stand out in such an over-saturated field?  
“We simply try to do what looks and tastes best to us. Hopefully that translates to the majority of people and makes us stand apart from others.”

How does your community influence your work?  
“Our community influences us greatly. We work with local farmers on a daily basis in the summer time and sell the product to the local community on the weekends. We also sell and introduce new products to local area farmers' markets.”

Most recently, the trends have been to eat locally and sustainably, and gourmet cupcakes and doughnuts were also a big hit. What upcoming trends can we look forward to next?  
“Sweet potato custard pies.”

How has business been lately?
“Business has been busy, sleep has been minimal.”

What three tools should any self-respecting home cook have in their kitchen?
“Garlic press, mortar and pestle, cast iron skillet.”

Name: Leigh Foster and Rachel Marshall
Location: Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Age: 26 and 27
Food Business: Nella Pasta, fresh pasta using locally sourced ingredients
Position: Co-Owners
Website: nellapasta.com

Pasta may have gotten a bad rap when the Atkins’ diets scared carbs from our plates, but the owners of Nella Pasta are redesigning pasta as a healthy dietary choice that supports local agriculture. Leigh Foster and Rachel Marshall started the specialty food business through a mutual love of pasta and free time once they were laid off from work. With only restaurant experience and a few Italian culinary classes under their belts, Foster and Marshall set off to use produce and cheese from local farms to create gourmet flavors like Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Ravioli and Grilled Balsamic Eggplant and White Bean Ravioli sold at local farmers' markets and stores.  

Who were you biggest influences?
“So, so many — everyone who has ever had a dream and gone for it. All the great chefs who support or set the path for the local food movement. Jamie Oliver for showing us how important it is to share healthy foods with others even if they may be hesitant to try it at first. Alice Waters, the pioneer of local foods and a woman nonetheless!”

What makes the food industry unique from other fields of work?
“Working with food is interesting because it's an art form, nourishment, and a guilty pleasure all at once. We appeal to a vast group of people — foodies who love our concept and flavor profiles, non-foodies who love the idea of throwing ravioli in boiling water for two minutes and serving it with a drizzle of olive oil, and a large group of people in between.”

What challenges do you face in the food industry?
“Rising food costs are a huge challenge — flour prices have gone up 22 percent since last year and we have kept our prices the same. Using locally sourced ingredients, we're also at the mercy of Mother Nature, and one too-hot/cold/wet/dry month can destroy a crop for the season. We saw it happen two years ago with tomatoes — an entire month of rain destroyed the crop and tomatoes were in short supply that whole summer.”

What do you enjoy most about your work? And what are you most passionate about?
“The obvious answer: We get to eat ravioli every single day! But really, we love experimenting with recipes, taking field trips to meet our farmers, and interacting with our customers each and every day at the farmers' markets. We are passionate about our product and changing somewhat of a stigma against pasta. We chose to make our pasta a healthy dietary choice that helps support local farmers as well.”

What advice can you give readers who are interested in supporting local and sustainable agriculture?
“It's much easier than you think. Really all it takes is a seasonal mentality. You wouldn't put a Christmas tree up in June, nor can you grow asparagus in October or pumpkin in May. Buying seasonal produce creates excitement around the changing seasons. And no one can say it's more fun to go to Stop and Shop than it is to visit your local farmers' market. You're not only getting better quality food, but you're supporting your local community and farmers making the right choices concerning their growing practices.”