{You Pick Six} An Interview with Food Blogger: El from Fresh New England

As a lifelong New Englander and someone with a serious sweet tooth, finding El’s blog was like finding the holy grail.

First, take a look at her Instagram feed. See what I mean? Some of you may have been swept away for more than a few minutes. You’re probably hungry now too!

Her baking skills, photography and love for New England are self-evident. Plus, her writing is not only about food. She always has a takeaway message that will leave you thinking.

I can’t speak highly enough about El. So I’ll let her do the rest of the “talking” and share some thoughts with us for the fifth part of the interview series, You Pick Six.

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What is a favorite simple recipe to prepare at home?
It’s more of a snack but it can be eaten any time of the day. Lightly toast a big, thick slice of crusty bread, smear it with soft goat cheese and top with spreadable jam. It tastes best when you use good quality New England made ingredients.

What is a favorite quote?
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
-William Morris

What is a favorite food movie?
Babette’s Feast. It’s a Danish story that portrays the centrality and meaning of food in our lives. It explores the notions of bringing people together over a meal and creating a meal for the sake of the meal. It also has strong themes of selflessness and generosity, which are typically present when we make food for others.

What is a favorite cookbook?
I love Bo Friberg’s Professional Pastry Chef. It’s well-researched and well-written. It addresses the fact that most desserts are made up of core, classic components. If you can master the components, your dessert repertoire is only limited by your imagination.

What do you think that most people don’t understand about food?
That local food isn’t necessarily more expensive than supermarket food. I spent a day visiting and recording prices at supermarket chains, organic farms and regular farms in the Greater Boston area. Do you know what I found? Almost consistently, per pound, the food from local farms – including organic farms- was cheaper than the food from the chain stores. Add that to the fact that local food is more nutritious, saves our beautiful and historic New England landscape, and supports the local economy and it’s easy to see that buying local food is the way to go.

Tell me about what you’re working on now.
As you know, Fresh New England has always been a great place to find information about New England’s culinary treasures. Now there’s a brand new companion site called Fresh New England Eats. The site is beautiful, searchable and has geolocation built in so can find the best local food in New England no matter where you are or what you’re doing. There are already over a thousand businesses listed on the site and we’re just getting started. The food community is really excited about it.

Basically, I’m on a mission to unite the New England food system into a single digital space. We have some of the best local food in the world and it’s time to give it the recognition it deserves.

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Thank you so much for participating El!

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Photo of Lemon Madeleines Dipped in White Chocolate provided by El.