Do you dream of peddling fine cheeses, chocolates and charcuterie? Want to learn farming as an apprentice? Hope to sport a chef’s toque someday? Check out Good Food Jobs, an online search tool designed to link people looking for meaningful food work with the businesses that need their energy. You can search for job opportunities with farmers and food artisans, policymakers and purveyors, retailers and restaurateurs, economists, ecologists and more.
Q&A with Taylor Cocalis, co-founder of Good Food Jobs
What’s the most interesting job that’s come across your desk?
One man’s dream job is another man’s…well, the answer is, it depends. We’ve had entry-level to executive director, and everything in between. What’s most interesting to you will be dependent on your prior experience, your current interests and your future plans. Recent highlights:
? Professional Chef Casting Call, Food Network; Anywhere
? Farm Help, Grassy Ridge Farm; Riegelwood, North Carolina
? Fabulous Soup Maker, The City Bakery; New York
? Cheesemonger, Cowgirl Creamery; Washington, D.C.
? Seasonal Garden Educator, Chicago Botanic Garden; Chicago
? Program Coordinator, Women, Food and Agriculture Network; Ames, Iowa
What sector of the food industry is hot right now?
The prevailing theme is the rise in sustainable food jobs–whether it’s working with markets, artisan products, farms or nonprofits.
Where do you see the most opportunity for new careers?
Entrepreneurs. We hope we can attract enough people to good food jobs that they will eventually want to create their own good food businesses. As a culture, we’ve proven that the industrial food model just isn’t sustainable. What we need are smaller, more decentralized food businesses that grow, make, support and/or educate people about good food.
