Cathy Erway on Finding Purpose Writing Healthy Food Recipes

In Chapter 9 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "How Do You Create Hope and Dispel Fear When Introducing New Recipes and Foods to Others?"  Erway embraces the challenge of showing foods and ingredients in new recipes.  She finds the visual and written elements of her food blog help her more effectively communicate that message to her audience. 

Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  How do you create hope and dispel fear when introducing new recipes and foods to others?

Cathy Erway:  Well, I like to always challenge the conventional by having somewhat strange or unusual combinations maybe or techniques or just ingredients that are less commonly used. And I like to show them in a new light by just, you know, doing a delicious recipe that hopefully comes through in the instructions and in the photos.

Basically, that's the best I can do, and I think that that's always actually a huge mission of mine because I would make these things and tell people about how great they were, but without the evidence of like a photo or like the written recipe that you can wrap your head around, it doesn't go through, so this is really one of the reasons why I write my blog, is to showcase it. 

How Recipe Writing Teaches You to Be More Creative

In Chapter 10 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "How Has Recipe Writing Taught You to Be More Creative?"  Erway notes the two aspects of the recipe writing process - experimenting and testing the recipe and then meticulously writing out the recipe.  She finds the former, the testing, pushes her to experiment and iterate on what she has tasted before. 

Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  How has recipe writing taught you to be more creative?

Cathy Erway:  Ooh. The ingredients are kind of like my paint, and the pan is my canvas, so recipe writing, I guess there's two facets of it. It's actually doing the recipe with ingredients and tools and so forth, but having to go back and write it is actually much, much less creative. It's actually kind of a pain to make it because you want it to be as accurate as possible, and sometimes you did things in the moment that you might forget, and it just takes a long time.

So, I mean, I guess if we're talking about the former, which is recipe writing as you're doing it, yes, it absolutely is a great outlet for creativity, and it teaches me to be more creative because I'm always--like my palate is constantly wanting something different, so I have to come up with something different.

So it's a good natural way to be forced into being a little more creative or doing something a little more differently because I don't want to have the same thing that I’ve had before.

Cathy Erway on How to Find a Food Writer Mentor

In Chapter 11 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?"  Erway details how she is learning from experienced food writer mentors and the steps she has taken to build relationships with them over time. 

Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  At this moment in your life, where are you seeking advice and coaching?

Cathy Erway:  At this moment, I am seeking advice and coaching from veteran food writers. I love to talk to them, hang out with them, eat with them. As well as I found that older, you know, food writers really like to hear what's going on with the youth culture, so it's a win-win. I have a few friends that had been doing cookbooks for decades and, we don't really, like, so much talk about cookbooks all the time. We kind of just hang out and maybe we will talk about the Super Bowl and just other stuff, you know, our families, what's going on in politics, but, you know, if we ever need each other's advice--like I've been helping a certain older food writer friend get into Twitter and do more social media and stuff like that, and figure all that stuff out. And I'm sure I will go back to him if I ever need a contact at The New York Times or something.

Erik Michielsen:  And do you find there’s just inspiration that comes from being in that group's presence independent of what specific thing you're talking about?

Cathy Erway:  Well, for me, definitely. Because the older, the more experienced you are, the more foods you know about, I think. I mean it's really a learning experience, the more places they've probably been around the world, so, yeah, I love hearing about that kind of thing and I will ask them endlessly and they're like, "Oh, and then in Barcelona, we went and had these snails..." you know, so I just love hearing about it I was like, "I wanna go."

Erik Michielsen:  Have you ever been intimidated asking, you know, to be part of that conversation, be part of those gatherings, and if so, how did you overcome that, you know, trepidation and push yourself in there?

Cathy Erway: No. No, I don't think so. I mean I will, like if I see a food critic at a party, say we're at the same event, and it's a public event, right? And some people are shy to walk up to people. I'm not, you know? Or email them out of the blue, because a lot of times they'll respond and they're really awesome. I try to do that to people that email me out of the blue. Maybe I don't get to all of them, I don't know, I think I do. If anyone's listening. I don't know, I mean, I think that it's, you know, if you wanna talk to them, they'll probably be happy to talk to you, too. 

Finding Food Writing Inspiration Reading Thoreau

In Chapter 12 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "How Have Thoreau's Words 'None can be an impartial or wise observer of human life from the vantage point of what we should call 'voluntary poverty' ' inspired your work?"  These words, from Thoreau's "Walden", inspire Erway to put herself in a place to see things from another person's shoes, which opens a creative channel that becomes her blog and, progressively, her healthy food advocacy platform. 

Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  How have Thoreau's words "None can be an impartial or wise observer of human life but from the vantage point of what we should call voluntary poverty," inspired your work?

Cathy Erway:  That's a very interesting quote, isn't it? I thought it was so audacious for him to say that. It's so -- You've never heard something like that. I haven't before, so I thought it was, "Wow, what a bold statement," and that's what really caught me when I saw it, and obviously if we could say it a different way it would make a lot more sense. So you could say, "Altruism is..." you know, "…the best way to get to know about life and people." But he said this kind of shocking, you know, word poverty, voluntary poverty, that's crazy, right? So it did inspire me and it made me feel brave to start a blog called, "not eating out in New York" because that sounds pretty weird, that sounds shocking, a little crazy, and I just knew that it was going to be -- it was going to work because of that, because I liked it. It just caught me.

Erik Michielsen:  And was there sacrifice?

Cathy Erway:  Was there sacrifice? I mean the whole experiment was like a big sacrifice. But I thought, you know, I thought of a lot different names that would sound nicer to you, on the ear, it would just kind of be evocative of, like fruits or something like, you know, something nice, something pleasant, something people like to hear. "Oh, you know, 'juicy tomato,' that sounds great." But that wouldn't really say anything about the blog so I was like just go ahead, just do it, just say, "not eating out in New York." "What?" You know…

Erik Michielsen:  With regard to voluntary poverty, does that come back to being surrounded by so many professionals and a lot of wealth, and choosing to kind of go against that, and then tying that into your choices from a writing and food perspective?

Cathy Erway:  Yeah, I think that that pretty much sums it up. I mean, voluntary poverty means you've taken it upon yourself to see things from another person's shoes. So, you know, going back to -- that's another way of putting that statement, right? So, yeah, I mean we live in the most cosmopolitan, arguably, city in the world. Of course there's a huge disparity of, you know, different incomes in the city, so you can see that all around you, but for the most part, I mean, yes, I mean we have everything at our fingertips, the greatest arts, the greatest food, which is what I was going to focus on, and, you know, Thoreau, his whole thing was he stepped away from society. That quote is from Walden, so he lived in the middle of the wilderness in Walden Pond actually, and survived, and learned how to survive basically on his own devices, so that's what I was comparing myself to doing by feeding myself all the time when there's so much non-need to do that.

Cathy Erway on Learning to Lead and Champion a Cause

In Chapter 13 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?"  By championing the good food movement, promoting healthy eating and encouraging people to cook at home, she finds it critical to engage people to drive action.  By allowing people to respond and take action to her words and messages, she finds her leadership actionable.  Erway goes on to share food writing and healthy eating mentoring influences, including Anna Lappe, Marion Nestle, and Alice Waters. 

Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  What does it mean to be a leader in what you do?

Cathy Erway:  Well, there are different levels of what I do. I think that one of the things that you could say I do is champion the good food movement, healthy eating, and cooking creatively at home. So-- "What does it mean to be a leader?" means engaging people and leading people, not just by writing about it, but by getting out there and organizing activities, initiating group -- just engagement somehow, whether that be asking people just questions to answer to in a Twitter feed or getting together a bunch of people and hosting a great event for a good cause. So I think that people just need to respond to you and need to be active themselves, they need to take an action, aside from just watching or reading, in order for you to be a leader.

Erik Michielsen:  Continuing on that, what leaders have you learned from?

Cathy Erway:  I've learned from a great deal of a really good food writer mentors. Also, along those lines, there are lots of local leaders in the food world, Anna Lappé who lives down the street from here, she's great, she's always been very active. Same with Marion Nestle she's always on panels, always talking, always being at events. I don't know her personally, but Alice Waters is such a leader. It's insane how much she does.

Erik Michielsen:  How so?

Cathy Erway:  Edible Schoolyard, I was out in Berkeley, California when they were celebrating their 30th anniversary with that project, and it just seems to expand all the time. They add more functions to this project. There's more cooking courses going on, there's more events surrounding it, and more groups that are getting involved with Edible -- it's like this thing, it's like this beast now. So, yeah, she's a huge leader.

Cathy Erway on Fixing the Mixed Messages of Food TV Shows

In Chapter 14 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "Why Should Food Media Be More About Education Than Entertainment?"  Erway highlights the need for food media television and blogs to be more clear in their intent.  She believes audiences see entertainment as instructional.  Erway takes issue her and aims to clarify the intent or purpose of shows teaching cooking and selling cookbooks that do not promote healthy eating. 

Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  Why should food media be more about education than entertainment?

Cathy Erway:  Well, I mean, not to sound too naive, but I think that, yes, I understand there is a difference in tone for the purpose of a food media thing, television show, for example, and a lot of the times we don't see it, we don't see that line and it gets confused for authenticity or just, you know, plain instructions, something that you should follow, but of course a lot of entertaining stuff is out there that--it wasn't--it didn't have that purpose.

So, the first food media, TV shows started, you know, in the '50s when television -- that truly was--that was like housewives need to know how to flip an omelet, so this is how you do it. That's really where it started, but of course, now we have all sorts of crazy shows, all sorts of funny, entertaining blogs out there too, and we need to, like, just be a little more clear on which, you know--what we should be watching it for, and--I mean, not that there's anything wrong with entertaining food media. I love watching funny shows like Food Party. I love the old British series Posh Nosh but, I mean, if you're going to instruct a food and sell cookbooks, I think that there needs to be more purpose behind that than just to entertain. Because you're going to have a real impact on people's eating habits, and they do, and they really do.

And, you know, I've noticed when I write something on my blog that's a recipe that is kind of hilarious, over-the-top--bacon cream cheese cupcakes--that the readership spikes and sure enough, you know, that's fun and stuff, and I do that once in a while, but it's not something I want to do simply to have a broader audience and, you know, I just -- because I don't want people to eat -- I don't eat that way all the time.

Erik Michielsen:  Right. Yeah, yeah, it's misleading.

Cathy Erway:  Yeah. I think so.

Erik Michielsen:  Only if it's done for entertainment's sake then it -- Okay, the goal is to entertain and then to sell advertising behind that and to make a productive, you know, television show, but when you're--

Cathy Erway:  Then you're like a tobacco company. Right? You're just like selling something that people like even though you know it's not good.

Erik Michielsen:  Yeah, there's a deeper element there that can be probably used a bit more.

Cathy Erway:  I like to write recipes that, if you read the behind the lines I do have a mission, but I'm trying not to hit you over the head with it. I talk about how delicious turnips are. And they are, but I mean, who would've thought that originally? It's not something you'd read and be like, "Oh, yeah, totally!" You know, there's, I feel like there's media that is affirmative like when the watcher--when the viewer is watching it, it's, you know, there's a positive experience which is, "I agree with you, and I already do agree with you." And that's the easiest kind of positive response to get.

But when you challenge by bringing up a totally new thought or new revelation like turnips taste decadent. Right? Or you try to make it sound decadent instead. There this like, "Eh." You know, non-- but you know after a while maybe they'll try and maybe they'll think it's a positive thing afterwards. So it takes a lot more time, it's harder to do, it's harder to get people to have a good experience because they have to actually do it or try it or something. 

Blogging Advice on Starting a Weekly Podcast to Grow Your Audience

In Chapter 15 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "How Are You Learning to Adapt Your Message to Reach Different Audiences?"  Erway notes how her podcast radio show as proven to be a strong complement to her food blog.  She shares how this has played into her evolving education marketing and promoting her ideas, messages, and writing. 

Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  How are you learning to adapt your message to reach different audiences?

Cathy Erway:  Well, one thing I've done is really focus on other mediums that I do on a pretty regular basis. So I have this radio show, it's a podcast on Heritage Radio Network. I think that the audience that listens to podcast radio, maybe they're -- maybe they just tune, you know, tune into it while doing other stuff at work, instead of reading because it's easier, maybe they're busier, I don't know, I think it's probably a different audience than somebody who reads a blog and also cooks a blog, cooks recipes from it that is.

I felt that, you know, there always are going to be people who just search for a recipe and land on your blog, and that's really cool too. So I like to tag up, you know, some recipes, which I didn't use to do before because I was so bad at--horribly bad at you know stuff like traffic, but that's always cool to see, and sometimes they do comment. They're like, "Hey, I just stumbled across this." And they're like totally a new voice in the whole conversation, which is great. 

Advice on How to Handle Rejection

In Chapter 16 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "How Do You Deal With Rejection?"  Erway notes how dealing with rejection comes down to attitude and ego.  She reminds herself rejection is not about her and shifts focus on understanding the party saying no and why it would do so.  Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  How do you deal with rejection?

Cathy Erway:  Rejection is actually -- it is a product of ego. I'm very easygoing, and if somebody rejects me and it's not a huge deal, I really handle it pretty well. Or if something, you know, I -- say I submitted to a poetry contest and I didn't get it, it's really not--I'm not going to be crushed, so I don't really get so worked up.

And if you didn't have a big ego, then you, there's no such thing as rejection, actually. It doesn't exist. It is something that you feel when you're--when somebody says no for whatever reason. You can take that to be, "Oh, I respect the way that person or that organization is thinking," and that's, it is what it is, you know? That's all it is. It's not about me, but let's think about what they were thinking, and that's their choice, okay. So, cool. But if you're thinking of it from only your point of view, "Oh," you know, "the world is -- It's me against the world. And the world is rejecting me." Then of course you're going to feel bad, so it's really about an attitude.

What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 1 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Life?"  He finds learning is getting easier and is pushing himself to learn coding and filmmaking.  Jaeger also notes how getting older affects energy levels and the need for rest.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

How Doug Jaeger Finds Personal Best Leading Creative Project Teams

In Chapter 2 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "When are You at Your Best?"  Jaeger finds his personal best around goal-oriented creative individuals.  This gives him tremendous energy and confidence and as a result he is focusing on building a team of people at his company.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

How Permanence Shapes Creative Career Choices - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 3 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "What Makes Your Work Meaningful?"  Jaeger shares how he started in web design and, over time, worked to launch websites and brands.  Over time, he finds his work no longer exists and shifts his attention to work that has a more permanent aspect, specifically company brand identities.  He enables this using multimedia designed for longer lifespans, specifically film, photography, and video.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

Finding Joy in Affecting How Others See the World - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 4 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do?"  Jaeger notes how he finds joy creating and making things or stimuli - designs, experiences, products - that shape how others see the world.  He revels in understanding the reactions from what he presents and using that to shape future work.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

How Family Relationships Change With Age - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 5 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "How are Your Family Relationships Changing as You Get Older?"  Jaeger shares how relationships with his mother and brother have changed after life events, including a father's passing, fatherhood, and, in Jaeger's case, starting a business.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

Why to Partner in Business With Your Partner in Life - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 6 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "What is It Like to Partner in Business With Your Partner in Life?"  Jaeger shares what has happened since deciding to formally collaborate on creative projects, including co-founding a business, with his fiancee.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

How Online Research Improves Business Capabilities - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 7 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "At This Moment in Your Life Where Are Your Seeking Advice and Coaching?"  Jaeger finds it challenging asking his network for advice and turns to the Internet to research past successful business approaches and apply the wisdom in his current work.  He then Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

How Motorcycle Lifestyle Inspires JaegerSloan Brand - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 8 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "How Do Motorcycles Play into Your Story?"  He shares what motorcycles have done to shape his New York City experience and how they came to represent attributes - awareness, efficiency, speed, fun, design excellence - behind the JaegerSloan brand.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

How Storefront Office Transforms Creative Business - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 9 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "How Did You Decide Where to Locate Your Office?"  Jaeger learns from mentor, Carl Johnson of Anomaly, how London creative agencies work out of storefront offices.  After opening JaegerSloan as a hybrid office / gallery, Jaeger finds unexpected surprises being connected to the local community.  By being present in the community, Jaeger finds he is able to both participate and contribute as a member and help it flourish.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.

How Curiosity Stimulates Creativity - Doug Jaeger

In Chapter 10 of 17 in his 2012 interview, entrepreneur Doug Jaeger answers "How Does Changing Your Surrounding Fosters Creative Thinking?"  Jaeger notes two ways to stimulate new ideas, creativity and curiosity.  He shares how changing surroundings opens new avenues for curiosity that translates into creative thinking.  Doug Jaeger is the co-founder of JaegerSloan, a multimedia design services firm in New York City.  His street front office doubles as the JS55 Gallery. Jaeger is also an adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).  He graduated from Syracuse University.