Food & Travel Writer; Cookbook Author
I am a food and travel writer, forever on the road. My goal in writing is to teach you something about chocolate, desserts, pastry arts, cities, nature, literature, or cuisine. That's probably a legacy from my years as a Pastry Chef/Instructor in culinary school in Los Angeles. I explain the technical, bust some myths, whisk you into different cultures, bring flavors to your mind, explore social relevance we might find, and celebrate the interesting people involved in interesting food. This portfolio is an archive of my articles and reviews, including those about my cookbooks, CHOCOLATE BLISS (Random House/Celestial Arts, 2008) and HAND-CRAFTED CANDY BARS (with Susan Heeger; Chronicle, 2013), and the latest, A BAKER'S PASSPORT (Amazon, January 2019). My stories always offer new recipes or insights into culinary classics; or maybe a travel tip like "Visit the French Alps!" which are pictured behind these words. FOOD MARKET GYPSY (www.FoodMarketGypsy.com), my travel blog, chronicles these adventures and won the IACP Digital Media Award, 2016. I served as a television executive for many years, and have written for Dessert Professional Magazine & Zester Daily among others. I look for collaborations on story concepts, familiarity trips, reviews, junkets and those who share the philosophy that baking and breaking bread are important, humorous, and life-affirming pursuits.
Portfolio
Look what we made earlier . . . yummy home-made chocolate Easter treats | The Times
Children of smug parents won't be eating cheap eggs this Easter - they'll be feasting on home-made gourmet chocs My sugar thermometer doesn't get a lot of use, to be frank. Yes,...
Beckoned By Black Forest Cake in Berlin - Food Market Gypsy
Seriously, this was a business trip. We HAD to find a quality slice of Black Forest Cake even though it was sought only by old-fashioned, German-language-less tourists like me....
Southern Green Beans in Appalachia - Food Market Gypsy
Late-summer cicadas craft the music of Kentucky with long rattling notes. My borrowed tee shirt has familiar Ashland Tomcats on the front. I don't remember ever having such a...
Zipping Up the Paradox In Paris - Food Market Gypsy
If you've been on a dessert-tasting tour of central Europe for 2 weeks, the dress shops of Paris frighten you. Over-crowded museums in summer heat are suddenly urgent on your...
Something Fishy in Finland - Food Market Gypsy
Because it was selected as one of the top ten food markets ever by Food Lover's Guide to the World from Lonely Planet, my expectations for the Helsinki Fish Market were running...
Caramel Pecan Tortoises Recipe - Food Republic
Directions For the milk-chocolate caramel: Put the ice in a large bowl and set aside. Place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Stir the mixture until it resembles wet...
Moonlight Oysters in Boston - Food Market Gypsy
"Listen to me. There is no more money," said my boss Sam, a stylish, 60-ish adman in his corner office near the Boston waterfront. A steady parade of us (copywriters, art...
Hand-Crafted Candy Bars has 78 ratings and 12 reviews. Sarah said: This was a Goodreads First Reads win.If you are looking for a book to teach you how ...
Feeding Refugees in Hungary - Food Market Gypsy
In the wake of a large earthquake in Los Angeles in the 1990's that followed a wave of race riots, I wrestled with the constitution of my character. What purpose did I serve...
Sachertorte mit globalism in Vienna - Food Market Gypsy
I know, I know...Vienna has always been a cosmopolitan city. But we approached it as a dessert capital - a singular exemplar; a province of old-world excellence. If other...