Mitchell Davis

PhD Candidate, Nutrition and Food Studies

A self-described "food person," Mitchell Davis has been fascinated by food preparation since he was a child. "When I was eleven, I was given a Julia Child cook book," he remembers. "I worked my way through the whole thing, cooking the recipes for my family." Today Davis is pursuing a doctorate at NYU's Department of Nutrition and Food Studies and coordinating the department's Summer Study Abroad program at La Pietra in Florence, Italy. He also works as Director of Publications for the famed James Beard Foundation, while writing about food for such periodicals as GQ, Time out New York,Gastronomica, The Art of Eating, and Food and Wine. His most recent cookbook, The Mensch Chef: Or Why Delicious Jewish Food Isn't an Oxymoron, was published last year.

Tell me about the James Beard Foundation and your work there.

The mission of the Foundation is to promote American Cuisine. How we do this is by hosting dinners and events at the Beard house (on West 12th Street in Manhattan) for 80 to 90 people. There are about 300 of these functions each year. We also give away scholarships to emerging chefs. In both ways we act like an arts organization for the culinary arts: we provide a performance space and promote chefs by supporting them in their endeavors. As Director of Publications I oversee the Foundation's monthly publication, which describes all the events happening at the Foundation and reports on food news around the world. I also oversee the publication of our biannual magazine, which recaps all of the Foundation's activities.

Did you always know you wanted to go into food writing?

I always knew I wanted to be a chef, but didn't think about food writing until my last year at Cornell University, where I was working toward a bachelors degree in hotel management. I took a restaurant reviewing class, thought it was great, and my teachers encouraged me. Soon after, I spent a year in Italy working on a project cosponsored by the Italian Government and an American organization called Group Restore Italiani. They were moved to promote Italian food outside of Italy, and I was one of a few American students invited to come to Italy to learn about Italian cuisine. The thought was that we would return to the Sates and spread the word about real Italian cooking by writing about it. This experience cemented my love for both Italian food and writing about food in general.

How does your doctoral work relate to the work you do in the field?

Everything I'm studying at NYU pertains directly to my work outside. I just wrote a paper about food and democracy for my media communications class and I want that to be the topic of the Beard Foundation's next publication. And because I've taught a few courses in the department, I come in contact with students who are working on interesting subjects that often relate to work the foundation is doing. As a result, these students are regularly hired by the Foundation as writers. I should add the professors in the department are stimulating everyday; they constantly make me think about my work in new and different ways. This, of course, informs all the writing I do - from my restaurant reviews to the new cookbook I'm writing.

With all your experience, why did you feel you needed a doctorate in food studies?

Because I knew there was so much about what I was doing that I wanted to understand better, and because I thrive in a school setting. It organizes me to read the books I want to read, and gives me deadlines - which I need! I also realized I wanted to teach at the university level. As it happens, when I began to think about all this, I was approach by NYU to be on the advisory board for the then new food studies program. After they'd built the program, I was so impressed I thought, "This program is amazing, I have to join it!" My time in the department has been exciting and really fruitful. I wanted an expert education and the program has delivered on every account.