I’ve been fascinated by food and culture my entire life.
For the past 20 years I’ve been falling in love with the richly diverse food culture of “The World’s Borough,” A.K.A. Queens, New York City, and have come to be known as The Culinary King of Queens. In addition to rocking the crown, I’m a:
WRITER—I live to find, report, and write stories that reflect diverse local culinary culture whether Italian-American fried chicken and muffuletta in New Orleans or Veracruz seafood cocktails and Indian chaat in Jackson Heights, Queens,for outlets, including New York Magazine, Eater, amNewYork, Edible Queens, and my own web site chopsticksandmarrow.com. This passion for food in Queens spurred me to explore other aspects of the borough’s rich culture and history culminating in the writing and publication of the best-selling guidebook: 111 Places in Queens That You Must Not Miss. I’ve also written neighborhood guides for amNewYork, The Daily News, and Grub Street.
CULINARY BRAND STRATEGIST—I help restaurants and other food businesses, particularly immigrant-owned mom-and-pop ones, to find and get excited about their brand narratives and communicate that passion to their audience via marketing strategies, including website copy, social media, events, and most important of all, outreach to print and electronic publications from local community newspapers to major metro publications via well-crafted press releases. Clients include Tong Thai, Silly Chilly Hot Sauce, and Papa’s Kitchen.
TOURISM EXPERT—I develop and conduct local food tours of immigrant communities in Queens—including the bustling Chinatown in Flushing and Thai enclave of Elmhurst—for a variety of clients ranging from tourists and the Princeton Alumni Association of New York City to Starbucks and Next Restaurant. I have also created campaigns and events to promote restaurants and culture in Flushing, Queens, and Hirokawamachi, Japan. My tours have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Lonely Planet.
TELEVISION & VIDEO CONTENT CREATOR—I’ve worked extensively with Andrew Zimmern, Tremendous Entertainment, Great Big Story, and Sixty-First Productions to produce content about food in Queens. On air appearances include Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Street Eats USA, and “Meet the Culinary King of Queens.”
EVENT CREATOR—I’ve developed, managed, and curated culinary events ranging from popups at local restaurants to such large-scale events as Charcuterie Masters, a wildly popular international culinary competition and festival, that I created five years ago. I’ve also curated the food lineup for the Meadows Music & Arts Festival and the Extra Crispy Breakfast Festival.