Ahoy Matey, it’s Stephanie Hersh!

This week we have the indescribably delicious Stephanie Hersh as our guest! Denise and Stephanie go way back. These days she is the onboard chef instructor on Oceania Cruises. You can watch her videos on Oceania’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/oceaniacruises/videos/1178549419210379/

While interested in food from an early age, Hersh recalls that pursuing a career in food was not always viewed with esteem, respect, and a degree of celebrity, but rather as invisible, manual labor. Regardless, after receiving her undergraduate degree, Hersh studied at the Culinary Institute of America, and happily began working in Boston-area hotel kitchens and as a private chef. While taking a course to augment her administrative skills, Hersh got word that Julia Child was looking for an assistant. “I never in a million years would have pictured myself with Julia,” she says. “It was a dream job.” 

 

She currently lives in Christchurch, teaching adult education cooking courses and a twelve-week food technology course to New Zealand school children, 11 to 13 years of age. This food technology course is required across the country and serves as a pre-cursor to home economics courses, which are taken in high school. She teaches students how to use kitchen equipment, the basics of food processing, and creative, critical thinking skills.

 

Hersh advises all students, “Go with passion, absolute passion in the study of food. If you’re not, there’s no point in doing it. When you are happy, it becomes infectious.” She quips that while she has no idea what her future holds, “Whatever I’ll be doing, I’ll be happily doing it—and I’m proud and delighted that the Gastronomy program is carrying on so well.”

 

[The above is excerpted from “Celebrating Julia Child’s Centenary with her Assistant and BU alumna, Stephanie Hersh” by Emily Contois.]

 

 

Stephanie’s links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-hersh-46884511/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.hersh.543

 

Women Beyond a Certain Age is an award-winning weekly podcast with Denise Vivaldo. She brings her own lively, humorous, and experienced viewpoint to the topics she discusses with her guests. The podcast covers wide-ranging subjects of importance to older women.

 

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