Eric Burkett

Writing and cooking are my two great loves. With a decade of journalism experience under my belt, and nearly a lifetime of cooking both privately and professionally, I am particularly well qualified to help readers and cooks make sense of recipes, food issues, and cooking techniques.  

Relevant Professional Experience: Writing

Present: Blogger for Delish.com, writing about “food in the news” covering a wide range of topics ranging from light-hearted food stories to consumer information, recalls, and sustainability issues. Delish is owned by Hearst Corp., and hosted at MSN.com.
Present: Contributor to Foodsafetynews.com, covering recall and food safety issues.
Present: Blogger and contributor to Grist.org, writing about food safety and social
issues.
Present: Freelance writer for ViMax Publishing & Marketing, Inc., which produces and publishes special interest magazines and other promotional items for retail businesses. I write and edit food stories about ingredients and how to use them, as well as other food-related pieces as needed.
2001-2002: Reporter at The Union Democrat, covering county and state government and politics, Sonora, California.
2001: Features writer at Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage, Alaska.
1999-2001: Reporter at Frontiersman, covering government and politics, Wasilla, Alaska.
1996-1999: Reporter at Anchorage Daily News, covering religion and community news, Anchorage, Alaska.

 

Relevant Professional Experience: Cooking

12/2007-10/2009: Kitchen manager and cook for Blue Fog markets, a local chain of high-end markets in San Francisco.  Duties included planning, prepping, and cooking deli staple items, salads, entrees, sides, and soups for daily distribution to both stores. Responsible for ordering stock and produce, and menu planning.
Present: Occasional cook for Back to Earth Catering, Berkeley, Calif., a catering and events company with a strong focus on organic and sustainable foods.
2006-2007: Cook employed with Acrobat Staffing, a food service and hospitality staffing agency in San Francisco. Clients with whom I have worked through Acrobat include Taste, Global Gourmet, Knickerbocker’s, Paula LaDuc, and Elaine Bell.
2007: Cook for Back to Earth Catering, Berkeley.
2006: Kitchen manager at LikeWise Café, 476 Castro Street, San Francisco. Set up and stocked kitchen when café first opened; responsible for purchasing, overseeing kitchen operations and activities of kitchen staff, as well as cooking.

 

Education:

2006-2007: Culinary Arts and Hospitality Program at City College of San Francisco.
2007: Copy Editing Cookbooks, one-day workshop sponsored by Editcetera.
2006: Basic Copy Editing, six-week class sponsored by Editcetera and University of California Berkeley Extension.
1998: University of Alaska Anchorage, advanced journalism course. 
1993-1994: Community College of Vermont, Burlington.
1990-1991: Concordia University, Montréal, Québec.
1991: Université de Montréal, Québec.
1985-1986: University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

 

Languages:
Fluent in English; speak and read French. Presently learning Spanish.