Although Leo’s has a special place in every Georgetown student’s heart, it is easy to get stuck in a food rut. Sick of settling for the same pizza or hitting the salad bar for each meal? Your prayers have been answered. Spoon University is a website that helps college kids with all their food needs, whether it is shaking things up in the dining hall and getting creative with food, or easy recipes for your dorm kitchen. Tori Goodell, Anne Gilliland and Elise Widerlite, all in the College, launched the Georgetown branch of Spoon U this year and have been really pleased with its success so far. Check out Her Campus’ interview with the head honchos and learn more about this cool new take on food for college students!
How did you get involved with Spoon University?
Tori: I learned about Spoon from a middle school friend who is a member of Spoon at Northwestern. Every time we got together, she would rave about this organization, and I was immediately inspired to bring this unique community to Georgetown. Anne, Elise and I are all foodies, so deciding to take up this project was a no-brainer. We have been working on Spoon at Georgetown for almost six weeks now, and while this project has literally consumed our lives, pun intended, we could not be happier with the response we have been getting from the Georgetown community.
Anne: Not only do Tori, Elise and I love eating food, but we also love cooking and learning about food. We are also English majors who enjoy writing, so Spoon seemed like the perfect marriage of our interests.
Elise: Last summer, I worked at a national, online food publication where I had the best job ever–making videos about food. I was thrilled to learn that Spoon University was coming to Georgetown because I am now able to bring my love for food photography and videography to Georgetown’s campus. I think that the innovative multimedia approach Spoon University is taking to food will be exciting and refreshing for our fellow Hoyas.
You guys have done a great job promoting it around campus, can you tell us a little more about it?
Spoon University is an online food publication for students, by students that connects college campus food communities nationwide. So many students, myself included, grew up having their parents make the majority of the food decisions for their families. When students get to college, they are lost and do not know how to incorporate food into their lives in creative, effective, and most important, simple ways. Spoon University started at Northwestern almost 4 years ago now to become the primary food resource for college students. Now Spoon has expanded to 30 college campuses nationwide, so we are very excited to be a part of this trend.
What are each of your roles with the site?
We are first and foremost an online publication. Our staff is broken into three separate teams–Editorial, Photography/ Video and Marketing–that work closely together to produce quality articles and determine ways to best meet the needs and interests of the Georgetown community. In this way, we are a pre-professional group where students can learn about publishing, photography, marketing and business.
Tori, the Editor in Chief, heads the editorial team. This team produces and manages all the editorial content for Spoon at Georgetown. Elise Widerlite is our Creative Director. She oversees the creative direction of our Spoon chapter with a focus towards engaging the student body. Her team works closely with the editorial team to ensure quality photos and videos so that our readers want to eat what they see. Nearly all the pictures on Spoon are originally taken by Spoon staff photographers and that is something that we pride ourselves on. I (Anne) am the Business Director and I head up the Marketing and PR team. We are in charge of coordinating with other student organizations, marketing Spoon online and on campus, and planning social events. We also have a philanthropic team within Marketing & PR department.
To get involved, please contact us at spoon.georgetown@gmail.com and we can give you more information about the available positions. We are definitely in the market for more writers and photographers!
What are your favorite sections of Spoon?
While we love all the sections on our Spoon site, we are particularly excited about the Recipe section. We hope students see just how much you can actually cook and eat with the resources you already have — be that in a cramped on-campus apartment or even in the most modest common room kitchens.
Check out this awesome S’mores Toffee Bar Recipe.
Since Spoon U revolves around food, what are your favorite foods?
Elise: Such a tough question! My favorite food has to be pasta. I’m never bored of pasta because it’s so versatile. I’ll change up recipes with different sauces, spices, and add-ins to make a new dish every time. Not to mention that I am part-Italian!
Tori: My biggest issue is that I have an almost insatiable sweet tooth. My guilty pleasure as of recent has been the chocolate covered raisins from Midnight Mug.
Anne: I too have a ridiculous sweet tooth. Swedish Fish, Rolos and coffee ice cream are my (all too often) go to indulgences.
Lightning Round:
Dream vacation?:
Tori: Thailand
Elise: Turkey
Anne: Skiing in Colorado
Dinner with anyone, dead or alive?:
Anne: Julia Child
Tori: Kristen Wiig
Elise: Jimmy Fallon
Go-to karaoke song?:
Anne: “American Pie” by Don McLean
Tori: Anything by Eminem
Elise: “Genie In a Bottle” by Christina Aguilera
Hitting the slopes or relaxing on the beach?:
Anne, Tori and Elise: Hitting the slopes
Dream concert?:
Elise: John Mayer
Tori: Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz tour
Anne: An Eagles concert in their heyday