Careers In Food — Recipe Developer & Food Stylist
For this month’s Careers in Food highlight, we are featuring SF Cooking Alumni Eric Lundy. Eric is a freelance recipe developer, food stylist, and private chef — because why pick one path when you can go down several? Below is a little about Eric’s professional journey.
Q: What is your official title?
A: Recipe Developer/Editor, Food Stylist, and Private Chef
Q: What do you love most about your job?
A: Project-based work and flexibility! This allows me to work on what I want, things that are of interest or a learning opportunity — mostly from my home studio/kitchen, and almost always with some amazing industry folk.
Q: What path did you take to get to this point in your career?
A: After 20+ years in the industry I was curious about what options there were after escaping from restaurants and catering. Right after graduating from the culinary program, I pursued work in food media. I looked for work that could provide experience and networking and sought out things that would energize me, too. My first year out of culinary school I worked as a recipe tester for the Simple Feast app, started working on the Feed Your People cookbook, and did recipe testing at GFF Magazine, where I was soon food styling and developing recipes for what quickly became my own regular column (Weeknight Warriors) in the magazine.
Q: What was your biggest challenge breaking into the world of freelance recipe development and food styling?
A: Not knowing what I didn’t know was a challenge, and the option of an externship in food media didn’t exist when I graduated. Along the way, everyone I had the pleasure of working with was patient, encouraging, and helpful. I found that a great work ethic combined with innate curiosity, asking a lot of questions, and trusting the courage of your convictions gets you far!
Q: What does your average day consist of?
A: When I’m in development mode I usually have a list of recipes I am working on, which begin with old school pencil-and-paper-idea-sketching and outlining. I then do some research, rough out the recipes, create shopping, prep, and recipe test lists, and put together schedules. These can be as relaxed as completing one a day or up to three if the deadline is looming. A shoot day, where I am food styling, is a lot more energetic and active. Whether I am on location, working with a group, or there are just a few of us at my home kitchen studio, there is a constant motion of creativity, ideas, decisions, details, food, and fun.
Q: What’s the biggest misconception people have about your job?
A: A lot of people think that food styling means you use all sorts of non-food items (which many corporate projects will utilize as they need to maintain a consistent looking product), but on most of my editorial shoots and cookbook projects, the food is treated as the star and you won’t find things like motor oil, denture adhesive, or disposable diapers on set.
Q: If you were to give advice to someone embarking on a freelance career in food, what would it be?
A: Be clear about what you want to learn and then work for the people doing that work. Ask to help out on a shoot, sit in on a recipe development session, or test recipes. Do this for free a few times to get experience (if they pay, even better — you should usually at least get ingredients reimbursed if you are testing recipes). Tap into the #sfcookingalumni network — many of the jobs I’ve landed came through connections made via the school.
Q: What’s the weirdest thing in your refrigerator right now?
A: Aveda intense hydrating masque.
Keep your eye out for Eric’s food styling work in the February 2020 issue of Eating Well Magazine! Big kudos to you, Eric.
