Jenna Hall on how food continues to forge connections, even more so during social distancing
Meet Jenna. Recruiting Coordinator by day, master chef during quarantine — she’s the embodiment of how people’s passions come to life both inside and outside the office. Jenna shows us how bringing your special flair to your job, no matter what that might be, can create a unique way to connect with coworkers.
Jenna’s flair is in the kitchen. Growing up in a family that owned and operated restaurants in Northern and Southern California, Jenna’s culinary creativity was cultivated from a young age. From trying her first oyster at age 3 to successfully making eggs Benedict for the whole family at age 8 on her own to auditioning for Master Chef multiple times, she now shares her lifelong passion with her colleagues at Dropbox.
“I was always very interested in food and how it was made and why it was done the way it was. I asked a lot of ‘why’ questions, I was one of those kids,” Jenna notes. “I love to cook for people, I love to make other people happy.”
While food is a huge driver of any culture, we take it up a few notches with the Tuck Shops (what we call our cafes) at our office locations. In Austin, Jenna not only enjoys hearing about what’s being made, she chats and collaborates with the Tuck Shop chefs and will even bring in her own creations for them to try.
“One of the things I miss the most about being in the office is the Tuck Shop, and not just because ‘oh they feed us,’ it’s the event around sharing meals with people I work with and the community that’s created at the table,” Jenna says.
While sharing looks a little different these days, Jenna won’t let that stop how she contributes to our culture. She’s taken to the #foodathome channel on Slack to connect with fellow food aficionados.
“Food is better shared with people, and we’re isolating,” Jenna says. “I can’t share a meal with someone, so I am going to share food at home…food is how I like to connect.”
Not only is Jenna connecting with the food family she’s built in the Austin office, #foodathome offers the chance to connect on common ground with anyone within Dropbox, even people she may have never crossed paths with.
The best part about the channel is that it’s more than just picture-perfect posts. Home chefs share their failures, trials, and triumphs and help each other along the way. Jenna shared about a recent troubleshooting session when someone recreated a recipe she posted (the biggest compliment you can give!) and it didn’t quite turn out. The community is about the common language of food.
Now that Dropbox is collectively working from home, we know that keeping our culture strong is important, not just for our company, but for our wellbeing. That’s why we’re finding creative ways to connect digitally through the passions that make us all unique.
Quarantine Creations:
