Congratulations to Andrew Ellis, Summer Stipend Recipient

Oakland: New Urban Eating is a cookbook which documents the growing food scene in Oakland. It includes a compilation of stories from restaurant owners, artisans, and food justice organizations in the area, as well as recipes.

From Andrew’s Summer Stipend Application:

Using an ethnographic methodology, we’ll investigate the vibrant culture that has developed around the gathering, preparation, and enjoyment of food in Oakland. Recipes will be collected from artisans, notable chefs, and influential community members across Oakland’s diverse community who are taking part in fueling this food renaissance. Throughout Oakland: New Urban Eating, we’ll talk with urban farmers, kitchen incubators, community-based food programs, and food foragers where we’ll uncover tips from creating your own raised garden bed in an abandoned lot to foraging for crab in the East Bay.

Find out much more by visiting New Urban Eating’s website, or liking the project on Facebook.

Here’s what our panelists had to say about Andrew’s application:

“I have several chef-friends who have urban gardens and chickens and love to share their riches. I love the concept of bringing the art of food preparation, photography, foraging, and so on, together.”

“The idea of personal stories from restaurants that go along with recipes is compelling because it gives a true sense of where the food is coming from.”

“A highly personal proposal that at the same time captures the spirit of a place and movement. The kind of project that can help elevate Oakland’s culinary status and innovation that will let it sit comfortably alongside its neighbors in Berkeley and San Francisco.”

“Interesting take on putting the culinary side of Oakland on the map, especially in context of San Francisco and Berkeley nearby. Exposing this side of a town not necessarily know for its cuisine is intriguing.

“I like this concept a lot, particularly because it seems to focus on all aspects of local food gathering and making around Oakland.”

“A great combination of relevance, feasibility, and potential impact. While foodie culture is thriving in the Bay Area (and elsewhere), the majority of the literature and resources is pitched at the more bourgeois and well-to-do audiences, leaving much of the process and politics surrounding this movement out of the discussion. This project instead binds the rituals of cooking and eating to the political, social, and familial, for people of all walks of urban life.”

“I love learning about culture through food and local character. This project will shed a fresh light on a vibrant and overlooked community.”

“Local food is a very relevant topic, it seems that deep ethnographic research would reveal some interesting underlying factors that make Oakland a crucible for a food renaissance… The personal development goal is to become a better story teller and it would be interesting to hear how the story of each interviewee adds to the meta-narrative which is described as a ‘food scene.'”

Thanks to all of this year’s applicants!

Check out all of the great submissions from our 2013 finalists.