Food Network VIPs

On Thursday, the Spoon interns had the chance to tour the Food Network headquarters above Chelsea Market, including the test kitchens as well as the set of Chopped. (OMG) Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures on the set, but as an avid Chopped viewer, it was incredible to see it all in person!

Taste Talks DC

Spoon road trip crew goes to Wawa

On Tuesday morning, the group of us Spoon interns hopped in a zipcar van and road tripped with Sarah and Mackenzie to Washington D.C. just for the night.  We were going to work the Taste Talks event that we had helped organize and promote in previous weeks.  Of course, we had to make a momentous stop during the four hour drive at a Wawa for those of us who hadn't been...if you're from the Northeast, you know its all the rage: the gas station that takes convenience store to another level, with made-to-order salads and sandwiches, or in other words, actually good food at a gas station.



Once we arrived in D. C. and settled in to an airbnb apartment that we would have for the night, it was time to get ready for the event, but not before stopping for popsicles (?)...it's very clear that we're all a little too into food, but what can I say?  We're working for a food website, so it's all part of the job, right?

Popsicles from Pleasure Pops in D.C.

The event was comprised of two panels of guest speakers discussing the ins and outs of the food industry, food start-ups and sustainability practices.  In addition, we had arranged several local food venders to provide samples for the guests; the stand-out of the crowd was, of course, the lobster roll from Luke's Lobsters. It was incredible to see the guests file in and the venue come to life, as just a few weeks earlier, we were working to find people to speak and donate their food.  Fortunately, everything went smoothly and in the end, Sarah and Mackenzie were very pleased with the event's success.

Lobster Roll from Luke's Lobsters at Taste Talks D.C.

With Julia at Taste Talks

Rachel and I enjoy Baba's Pickles at the event

That night, we took advantage of being in D.C. and walked around the monuments, from the Lincoln Memorial to the White House.  It was incredible to see such architectural masterpieces, practically glowing in the darkness and with almost no one else around.

Afternoon on Broadway

Sunday afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting Shelby, a high school friend in my graduating class who danced professionally with Sarasota Ballet this year, to grab lunch and see Matilda on Broadway.

Intern Perks

Currently, I am working on an article for Spoon that will compile all of the gelato flavors everyone needs to try when they come to NYC.  Thus, you can imagine, my job right now includes endless gelato sampling...

Grom Gelato

The Spoon Life

I feel so lucky that when I go to work, I get to sit around a conference table with an awesome group of other interns, along with Spoon co-founders Sarah and Mackenzie, and have the opportunity to discuss any upcoming Spoon development--whether it is one of the pitches from a remote writer, photograph choices for an article, speakers for an upcoming event or how to organize a new "abroad" section of the website, all of us can add our own input or ideas in such an open environment.  Basically, there are good vibes, which are only enhanced, at the Alley NYC space, by all of the other interns working next to us on other start-ups.

Recently, we worked to plan the "Taste Talks" event next Tuesday in D.C. by scouting out potential speakers, as well as media outlets for promoting the event.  Additionally, we worked together to generate a survey in order to gather information for a new section of the website that will be a guide, detailing the best places to eat and drink while studying abroad.  As editorial interns, of course, we are also always working individually to go through the submissions from remote writers (and also write our own articles).  In order to create a fun way to introduce ourselves to the Spoon community, we also filmed short introductions yesterday...which should prove quite entertaining once they are edited by the lovely video intern Mira.

What's most exciting though is that yesterday, we also found out that Mackenzie and Sarah were able to secure an airbnb room in D.C. as well as a Zipcar, so that all of the interns can go to D.C. next Tuesday to attend "Taste Talks" (and actually experience the event we have so thoroughly promoted)!

From the Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks book launch on Monday to the Taste Talks event next week to endless office snacking, I can only say one thing: so happy about intern perks (read: free food).

Apartment Cooking Attempt #1

While Sarah and I may have struggled a bit at first, in the end we managed to put together a successful vegetarian chili from our own recipe...check it out here on Spoon's website!

Need a Father's Day Gift?

Check out these awesome presents for your dad on his special day.

(Published on spoonuniversity.com)

Sarah, my roommate and best friend since pre-school <3

Spoon University "Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks" Book Launch!

Internship 3.0 (wait, what?)

So, I didn't actually get a third internship, but weirdly enough, I started fresh again this Monday.

What I mean, in short, is that I received an email from Eliza on Sunday night with unexpected news that SCENE Magazine will no longer be published due to a lack of ad sales.  Initially, I was shocked, only because the week before, it seemed as if everything was running so smoothly.  But I quickly realized I had no reason to be that surprised, as SCENE was primarily an arts, fashion and culture magazine for a niche, elite audience; I am all too aware, due to my background in ballet, that the arts and arts-related publications simply do not thrive when the economy is not thriving.  In fact, the arts is always the first thing to be pushed aside when other concerns arise, which is the cause of a decrease of arts funding in schools and low attendance at museums and shows.  Ironically, through all of this, it is still the arts that keeps humanity sane, provides a source of creative expression and acts as a backdrop for political, cultural and self awareness.  But, before I get on a tirade (I could go off about the importance of the arts for hours), I should mention that I am extremely thankful.  After finding out about SCENE's unfortunate end, I was told to still go into the office Monday to see if it was possible for me to intern with the newspaper that SCENE was associated with, The New York Observer.  It turns out I will be writing for the Style section of the paper now, which is both exciting and daunting, as I had no expectations of getting to write any significant amount for a publication this summer.  For SCENE, I was working more editorially and also learning basic tasks on InCopy and Wordpress as well as completing side tasks such as requesting photos.  I actually had enjoyed the rush of small tasks throughout the day, but also am looking forward to researching for and writing full-length pieces.

Central Park

Wordpress Newbie

My first post on Spoon's website yesterday--check out Starbucks' latest addition!

Starbucks Frappuccino Truck

Internship 2.0

Yesterday was day 1 again, with the start of my editorial internship at Spoon University, a food website and community for college students.  In the morning, the group of interns convened in a large meeting room in the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism with co-founders of Spoon, Mackenzie and Sarah to discuss our summer tasks and organize our ideas.  Each of us has two teams of remote writers and photographers whose work we will edit and publish onto the Spoon website, in addition to individual jobs, which for me include working on the weekly newsletter and using google analytics to measure the success of each of the teams.  Sitting with a group of true foodies, I could finally share my obsession with food instagrams and rejoice in company when I heard of the existence of a new Starbucks Frappuccino truck!

Today, we were based in Alley NYC, instead of the journalism school, which is basically a networking space for several start-ups.   Interestingly, through Spoon being a part of the space, we have access to various resources including the opportunity to attend social events, learn about various up-and-coming companies and listen to guest speakers such as Ariana Huffington of the Huffington Post (who is coming next week!).  I spent most of the day today reaching out through phone and email to various restaurants in Washington, D.C. in order to scout out potential chefs to be guest speakers at an upcoming event called "Taste Talks."  Spoon held this event in NYC in April with several cool speakers, including the associate editor of Grub Street and the VP Digital Editorial of The Food Network.  Finding a location, securing donations from local restaurants and scouting out interesting speakers for an event in D.C. from NYC is definitely quite the task and I was happy to be able to help in a small way.

Central Park

A lovely Sunday in the park with my roommate and best friend Sarah

The Nitty Gritty of Things

While requesting high resolution photos from PR managers at various companies filled much of my time last week, I also had the opportunity to be another set of eyes in the multi-tiered copyediting process.  Each spread for the issue is passed from person to person with each making his own edits, checking everything from spelling and grammar to facts and statistics.  As corny as it sounds, I was intrigued as the pieces of the magazine were truly coming together in front of my eyes, with pictures that I had seen in various emails in raw form, photoshopped and arranged on the pages with blurbs of text that I had read through earlier.

Today, with the June issue completed and published, the tasks were significantly different.  I first generated PDFs of each of the articles so that they could be electronically sent to the people on which they were written.  Afterward, I spent the remainder of the day transferring the articles through Wordpress to the SCENE website.  While I had seen the backhand of a website before, I was glad to have the hands-on opportunity to utilize several aspects of Wordpress, including text and image formatting.  I have to say the coolest part, though was getting to put my name in the by-line for the short sidebar pieces I had written the week before.