I’m sure we all had days scrolling down Food52 or Smitten Kitchen, daydreaming about that cheesecake that we were dying to make. The only problem – it has about ten thousand ingredients and you’re pretty sure it involves some witchcraft and wizardry. In my opinion, Spoon University steps right into that gap between fancy recipes and university students. While acknowledging that university students care about food dearly and really don’t want to make mac and cheese every day, it offers an alternative platform where you can still drool over food, but actually see your peers and yourself making it. To talk about Spoon University, we interviewed Spoon University McGill co-founder, Liza Levitis.
Nisan Kavak for Her Campus McGill (HC McGill): Hey Liza! Can you tell us a bit about yourself before we start talking about your awesome website?
Liza Levitis (LL): For sure, I’m currently in my third year at McGill and am majoring in Cognitive Science with a minor in International Development Studies. I’m from Brooklyn, New York and I was fortunate enough to grow up in a city that takes food very, very seriously – the plethora of ethnic hubs populating the five boroughs left me constantly going through phases of being obsessed with a particular cuisine. Furthermore, my family is Jewish and from Russia/Ukraine – the integration of Ashkenazi food and Slavic food gloriously wove its way into every dinner spread, inducing food comas that were well worth it each and every time. I remember (and still see this every time I visit) my dad watching cooking shows or my mom perusing recipe websites, constantly making note of how to tweak a recipe that has long made its way into a monthly rotation at home or of something entirely new to make.
(Spoon University McGill’s Build-Your-Own-Bento event, in collaboration with the McGill Farmer’s Market)
HC McGill: Can you tell us more about Spoon? What was the thinking behind establishing the chapter at McGill?
LL: Spoon University is the baby of Mackenzie Barth and Sarah Adler – two very inspiring, young entrepreuners who came up with the idea for Spoon while still at Northwestern University. The idea for Spoon was rooted in acknowledging the inaccurate perception most have regarding university students – and most young adults for that matter – and our attitude towards food; Sarah and Mackenzie sought to showcase that university students care quite a bit about what we eat.
I first found out about Spoon during the summer of 2014 when my fellow food loving best friend back home shared the link for Brainfood 2014, the first conference hosted by Spoon University. I eagerly RSVP’d, and a few weeks later I found myself at AlleyNYC, in the midst of a convocation of people who are tremendously passionate about food. To sum it up – the day was filled with a variety of activities including a cooking demo given by a chef from L’Ecole, a talk given by the founder of Baked by Melissa, a panel discussion between some of NYC’s most successful chefs, and a workshop on food journalism.
Suffice to say, I was blown away by the passion prevalent amongst everyone working in all the various facets of the food industry. After finding out (from Sarah and Mackenzie) that Jen Berger, a friend from my days at Citadelle, had also reached out about starting a chapter at McGill, I was pumped to bring Spoon to McGill and help foster a community of food-loving students.
HC McGill: Where do you see Spoon in the future?
LL: The current execs of Spoon McGill – Helena Lin, Carlotta Esposito, and Prairie Broughton – have been doing a stellar job this year with really integrating Spoon within the McGill community. We had an extremely successful community event a few weeks ago where we partnered with the various vendors affiliated with the McGill Farmers’ Market to sell bento boxes each comprised of a vegetarian sandwich and other deliciousness, all sourced from the vendors. The motivation behind this event was to promote sustainable, affordable eating for McGill students and staff while supporting Quebec farmers.
We’re currently brainstorming more community events – the one for November will be focusing on senses in relation to food. I see Spoon as being the focal point for all things food related on the McGill campus – I’d definitely like to see cooking competitions with the McGill Students’ Culinary Society, along with volunteer events coordinated with Santropol Roulant.
HC McGill: What are your favorite places to eat out?
LL: Ahh this is a hard hitter…
- Sparrow
- Le Local
- Bocadillo
- Café Replika
HC McGill: Can you tell us 5 quick recipes that you love to make for the midterm season?
LL:
- Paleo chili like this one from PaleOMG – Last year I would prep ingredients in the morning before leaving for class, place everything in the pre-heated slow cooker and come back home from a long day on campus to the smell of finished chili.
- Mashed avocado on toasted Ezekiel bread with tomato slices and freshly cracked sea salt and black pepper + a fried egg – super quick to make and always filling.
- Shirataki noodle pasta – Recipe going up on Spoon soon!
- Pumpkin pie chia pudding – All you have to do is mix together a ¼ cup of pumpkin puree, a mashed banana, some coconut yogurt or plain Greek yogurt, chia seeds, oats (I just add in a couple tablespoons of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Muesli mix), and cinnamon.
- Spicy sweet potato tuna cakes – recipe from Nomnompaleo
HC McGill: Thank you for the wonderful interview, Liza!
If you want to learn more about Spoon you can visit their website here, and their Facebook page here.
Images obtained from:
https://www.facebook.com/SpoonUniversityMcGill?fref=ts
Additional images provided by interviewee.