Local Foodie Jobs

Working The Dough

by A.D. Amorosi

	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: Mar 28, 2007

Food professionals who dream of big-time book deals look up Clare Pelino, the publicist/literary agent behind Pro Literary Consultants. Pelino has secured contracts for Fork co-owner Ellen Yin, whose Forklore: Tales and Recipes From an American Bistro is out this fall; Dogfish Head owner Sam Calagione and super-sommelier Marnie Old; and more Aliza Green books than you can flick a whisk at.

You can find gorgeous photos — glossy food porn a la Playboy — in everything from Bon Appétit to Philly Style. But what about those lesser foods — the Hustlers, if you will — from companies like Perdue, Prego, Heinz and Campbell's? When those products are in need of some commercial lovin', they call local food stylist Katrina Tekavec. Not only does she make tony restaurant fare from Morton's of Chicago look pretty; she does it for Ronzoni and Manischewitz, too.

Marcia Levin Pelchat, a sensory scientist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in West Philly, knows noses. Pelchat specializes in the neuroimaging of sensory and evaluative responses to food, our personal preferences and the mechanisms of food cravings. For fun, she leads tours, lunches and lectures on scent.

Dantasticfood isn't an expletive; it's the name of the company run by Philadelphia's Dan Macey, a writer turned food stylist, who first developed his palate by food-tasting, then consulting on recipes for everyone from the corporate bigwigs at Aramark to Food Network's Emeril Lagasse and PBS' Nick Stellino. (Fun Fact: Macey's also an on-air pitchman who's done pizza ads and commercials for the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association.)

Some of you (OK, I) know Carolyn Wyman as a City Paper copy editor. She scrutinizes my rantings like a beat cop hunting for a junkie's works. Others dig her syndicated "Supermarket Sampler" columns. But Wyman has also investigated the secret lives, hidden histories and pop-cultural esprit behind some of our favorite eats. While her Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods That Changed the Way We Eat features bios of meal kits like Hamburger Helper, she's spent entire books on single products: SPAM and Jell-O, specifically.

 

All reader comments are subject to our Terms of Use. By clicking Post Comment, you acknowledge that you have reviewed and agree to these Terms.

Name	please enter your name
Email (will not be published)	please enter a valid email
Comment	please enter a comment
Enter the security code on the right in the textbox below.
Security Code	please enter the code
	Join the City Paper Mailing List

Small Bites
The Week In Eats
Chain Gang
ChriSteven's
Yours Truli
Feeding Frenzy
You Ask We Answer
1601