Food has always been an integral part of my life. A spatula was placed in my hand probably before a pencil, this is where I formed my habit of eating raw batter. Throughout high school I thought I'd maybe open a bakery, but never envisioned having a career in the culinary world.
That belief changed when I began learning about the different sectors of public relations. Culinary PR is a real thing, and yes, it's amazing.
Like every college student headed home for the summer, I was on the job hunt. The opportunity to intern with a food and beverage agency fell on my lap, literally. I was interviewing at a restaurant and the chef recommended the their PR agency, JS2 PR. My public relations major and immense love for food came together in a dream job that I never knew existed.
JS2 has an impressive list of clients, namely restaurants throughout the Los Angeles area that focus on high quality food. My summer was spent getting an inside look at what really goes in to the food coverage you see on websites like Eater, The Infatuation, and Thrillist.
Here's what I learned:
1. The food community is huge.
There is a massive network of individuals who love food. This network is made up of people doing everything from running Instagram accounts covering local grub to journalists on the search for the best cocktails in the US, and everyone in between.
2. You can never read enough about food.
Every morning I'd check the top food outlets in order to stay up to date on any trends, recent releases, or important news happening in the culinary world. This never got boring, and I was definitely the first to hear about Swedish Fish Oreos.
3. Food is constantly being reinvented.
PR is all about getting your client coverage in local and national outlets, and writers look for something newsworthy. No one wants to read about a plain burger, and therefore no one wants to write about one. Shoutout to the burger pictured below that featured ketchup leather.
My summer was spent ogling food, writing about food, and eating food (aka client research). Not only did I gain more appreciation for Los Angeles' food scene and its chefs, but I earned PR experience.