"Food had always been a passion of mine, and I started writing a blog for fun, and shortly after decided to attend culinary school in the evenings," Jess explains. Having worked in a variety of restaurants and kitchens throughout high school and college, she admits that the driving force behind her pursuing an education in culinary arts was not to become a restaurant chef.
"I had always been obsessed with cookbooks and food magazines, and I idolized Martha Stewart and Ina Garten. I began interning at Martha Stewart Living, and that is how I learned about food styling." Today, food styling is a prominent form of food and beverage marketing and social media content creation.
Starting an internship with Martha Stewart was more than just a foot in the door into the food publication industry for Jess. She has spent her time since that internship working for various internationally notable publications and brands such as Bon Appetit, Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, West Elm, Jose Cuervo, Panera, and Macy's. Jess has been one of Martha Stewart's right-hand people for over a decade, having worked on Martha Bakes, Martha Stewart's Cooking School, and Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party. Jess even gives Snoop Dogg a shout-out in her new book by featuring one of his favorite salads.
Not only is Snoop Dogg featured in the book, but Martha Stewart has written a lovely foreword introducing readers to the salad sorcery of Salad Freak. The love Jess has for salad was only perpetuated by her time working with Martha. She claims that while working together, Martha's go-to meal was always a salad, and she would have to create innovative salad recipes for Martha (sometimes on the spot!).
When asked about the inspiration for Salad Freak, Jess explains, "My friend Claire Saffitz wrote an incredible cookbook last year called Dessert Person, and while I know there are a lot of people who identify as having a sweet tooth, I thought it was going to be a real stretch to convince people to be as excited about salads as I am." Little did Jess realize she was in for a surprise.
"But, when I started working on the book, more and more people let me know how much they craved salads and needed fresh ideas. All I ever want to eat are salads, I think they are truly the perfect meal. They offer so much more variety than people give them credit for, and I hope this book really can change preconceived notions of what a salad is or can be. I mean, have you tried salad pizza yet?”
Suddenly, we're craving salad pizza! The Ross community is excited to try out Jess' tempting new salad recipes featured in Salad Freak. If you would like to learn more about her new book or unleash your inner "Salad Freak" and pick up your own copy, click here.