Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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4 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com CONTRIBUTORS MEET THE CONTRIBUTOR AMANDA BALTAZAR Bay Area Bites A manda Baltazar has written for dozens of U.S. and foreign publica- tions, lives in Anacortes, Washington—an island about halfway between Seattle and Vancouver— and loves experimenting in the kitchen. What's one of your favorite articles that you've recently written? I interviewed the owner of a tiny restaurant in Maine. She'd found a rundown cottage that was 544 square feet with a toilet falling through the floor and decided she could make it work, and she has. I loved the passion of the owner and the cozy, comfortable, yet gastronomic space she's created. What's your fondest food memory? In 2003, I spent part of the summer living with my grandmother who'd been widowed the year before. Nana was desperate for someone to nurture and every morning when I came down to breakfast I'd have a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, and a bowl of lovingly stirred oatmeal with raisins she'd soaked overnight so they were plump and juicy. e love that she poured into that breakfast was the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. Plus, I'd give anything for a bowl of her gnocchi—she was Italian—now, too. Do you prefer to eat in or go out? Eat in, because I love coming up with menus and trying out new things. But I'm never going to turn down the opportunity to eat out either. What are some of your non-gastronomic interests? Reading, novels mostly, trail running, swimming, tennis. What's your favorite food city? New York City. is prob- ably needs no explanation but in New York you can get the best of anything you want. When I first moved to the city in 1996 I ran up a small debt because the temptation to try new places every night was too great. I had my first southern food in New York, my first sushi, my first Korean, Indonesian, and Vietnam- ese. I also had my first brunch there. What was the strangest meal you've ever eaten? Well, there were the sweetbreads in France, and the haggis in the U.K., but the weirdest meal was probably an African meal in Paris. My husband took us to a restaurant where he said he'd had the best meal of his life but the night we went I found the food inedible. One dish was completely black—not so much as a sprig of parsley—and another so stringy that the food stretched from the plate to your mouth when you lifted the fork. AMANDA BALTAZAR Bay Area Bites Freelance writer based in Anacortes, Wash. JULIE BESONEN Leadership Awards, Producer Profile Writer for The New York Times, and restaurant columnist for nycgo.com JANET FLETCHER Cheese Focus, Bay Area Bites Writer of email newsletter "Planet Cheese" and the author of Cheese & Wine and Cheese & Beer MARK HAMSTRA The Evolution of Food Retailing Freelance writer based in New York City ANDREA LILLO Product Development 101 Freelance writer based in New York City NICOLE POTENZA DENIS Buyers' Picks, Category Spotlight Contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine SUSAN SEGREST Producer Profile Contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine DENISE SHOUKAS Trends & Happenings Contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine RON TANNER Food Safety Update Vice president, philanthropy, government, and industry relations for the Specialty Food Association ? What soups or stews do you crave during winter Specialty Food Magazine is pleased to publish insightful and actionable articles from leading journalists and retail practitioners. Homemade cod chowder