I have yet to meet someone who will openly admit that they dislike food. I mean how could you hate such a gift? It fills you up when you’re down, bored, tired, celebrating, or even when you’re just hungry! If you could take your favorite activity (can’t be eating!) and be able to pair it with food wouldn’t you decide to do that activity for the rest of your life? UT Sophomore Willa Young is way smarter than all of us because that’s exactly what she has decided to do!
Willa has created her own food blog perfectly titled, “The Devil Eats Pasta” combining her talents in both writing and admiration for food. She realized that her interest in food was greater than most when she was seven-years-old. “My sister went through some very strange, exotic career choices in life and one day she said she wanted to be a chef,” after this the Food Network seemed to be playing all the time at her house. “But one day she challenged me to a guacamole cook off, and I won!” she laughs, “and then I kind of realize “hey maybe I’m good at this!”
Her first victory sparked her interest into being a chef but she admits that her sophomore year at high school she realized the downsides of being a chef. “You have to work when everyone else is not working,” she says which is sadly the truth as chef are the ones that work nights even holidays when everyone else is off and well enjoying their time at your restaurant. Despite this being a disappointing realization Willa didn’t let it end her dream she just had to readjust it. That’s where her food blog came in, “then I thought what can I do to have food in my life and not be a chef? Since I also like writing I just decided why don’t I write about food for a living?” She knew that when you want to go into the writing business it’s always great to have a blog to show as a reference to professionals. But Willa didn’t want to have a “typical” blog, if she was going to make a blog she was going to make it right and have it reflect her.
By looking at the home page of her blog you wouldn’t know that she began creating it just this past June. Adding to her talents is her graphic design ability as she learned how to use all of the necessary Adobe programs to custom create the exact classy and modern look she was going for. Surprisingly, the title of her blog was a lot easier to come to. “I had this vision of being the Meryl Streep of a food magazine,” she says is how she came to the “The Devil Eats” part of her title. Honestly who wouldn’t want the power Streep’s character possesses? To throw her love for food into the mix she added the “Pasta” and from there “The Devil Eats Pasta” was born. After months of getting it to be just right, Willa finally unveiled her blog two weeks ago.
Willa was surprised by the amount of positive support she has received in the short amount of time that it’s been up. Originally her blog was just suppose to be used as a reference for jobs, “to me it wasn’t about everyone seeing it or making it big” but she also didn’t want it to just be sitting there especially with the amount of time she was putting into it. “I decided to post it onto my Facebook, and encouraged my sorority sisters to share the link,” she says “at first I was scared about how people would react to it.” But we both agreed that it’s hard for people to hate something that glorifies food. We all are guilty of taking pictures of our food, pinning photos of recipes, and talking about food more than we should. All Willa is doing is putting all of pictures, comments, and recipes in one amazing place for others to see! People are responding to that with tons of positive feedback that makes her blog that much more rewarding.
What’s next for Willa? She already has an internship set up with LA Times this summer where she can gain further experience in writing. “I don’t believe I have enough credibility yet, that can only be gained through experience,” she says. Because of this most of her posts on her blogs are rants (which she admits she loves to do, who doesn’t?). Once she thinks her readers know her well enough to trust her opinion she will begin to write more food critiques.
I, on the other hand, already completely trust her opinion (and pallet!) and had to ask her about her favorite places to eat in Austin. Let’s all admit that the great food in Austin was definitely in our “pro” list when deciding between colleges, and Willa is no different. “I actually don’t like uppity pretentious places” she confesses, her favorite place to eat is Magnolia Café because “the waiters are chill, it’s just good food without trying to be anything.” I can second her appreciation for Magnolia Café; I was there last week and can say that the pancakes are beyond heavenly. I then don’t even know why I even bothered asking Willa what her favorite food is as a foodie because honestly I couldn’t even tell you mine, though she did admit her love for sushi! Something that her and I as East and West Coasters are spoiled with our close location to the oceans, the fish can’t get much fresher.
Considering this is only the beginning for Willa it’s safe to say she is well on her way to obtaining her goals. “The dream is writing for Bon Appétit magazine, that’s the goal,” she says, and I don’t see how she won’t be able to get there. Willa already has what many college students don’t; a solid plan. The fact that she is already making moves towards her dreams puts her way ahead of the game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her name in Bon Appétit in a few short years. This of course is the reason why she is our Campus Celeb!
Check out her brilliance on her blog!