How did you get the idea to start a food magazine and put your idea into action?
I have always loved to cook, so I’ve been trying to start a food magazine on campus for the past three years but never had the financial support. Can you believe it? For a foodie paradise we have no food magazine. Finally, during the second semester of my junior year I decided, screw it, I’m going to find a way to do it without money – and that is exactly what I did. I am a part of the Wisconsin Union Directorate Publications Committee, so I went to them with a proposal for the magazine. After a few weeks of debating the setup and name, we decided to call the magazine “The Dish,” and it would be an online publication. I then began looking for some grants to pay for the website and promotional materials and luckily received some financial backing from the Wisconsin Union, the Publications Committee and the Wisconsin Union Food Services. The next step was to hire a staff – and I was very fortunate to receive applications from people who truly love food and wanted to help make this magazine possible. Without my staff – this magazine would not be what it is today – and I am very thankful for the hard work they put into it everyday.
How important of a role does food play in your life?
Food is my life. Ok, no it’s not the only thing, but I do love food. Ever since I was a little girl cooking Sunday brunch with my dad, I have loved the creativity and excitement around cooking. I guess you could say cooking and baking acts as my stress reliever – whenever I am crying uncontrollably or have had the day from hell, I turn to food and try and make something deliciously wonderful to counter the day.
Where is your favorite place to eat in Madison?
Hands down it is Brocach. To me they have the best fish fry in Madison, and I absolutely love all of their food. I’m not one to order a salad when I go out to restaurants, mainly because I actually like to feel full after a meal, but Brocach has some of my favorite salads, and I love ordering the Shades of Green. They also make the drink “Snakebite” the proper way, which I really appreciate. My love of Brocach is pretty well known among my friends, so much so that they have to specify “besides Brocach” whenever they ask me where I want to eat.
If you could only eat the same meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Tacos. I have no restraint when it comes to those beautiful meat, cheese and sour cream wrapped pieces of heaven. I am not ashamed to admit that there was one week my sophomore year that I ate tacos for dinner seven days straight – it was magical. Nowadays I try and contain my taco eating to one day a week – but sometimes, my roommate and I just give each other the look and we know what it means – taco night again!
Where can people go to learn more about The Dish and/or joining the staff?
People should check out our website www.thedishmadison.com and download our pdf issue to find great recipes, articles and news about submitting to The Dish. If anyone is interested in joining The Dish they should e-mail caillym@gmail.com for more info. We are also looking for recipe submissions to feature on our website and in our pdf issue, so please please please submit any and all of your recipes to caillym@gmail.com as well.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wisconsin chapter.