Half the battle in working with good food is finding a good food job.  Lisa knows from experience.  But when you have a calling, what else can you do?  After two decades as a Lobbyist, Lisa decided to make a change and hightailed it to the University of Gastronomic Sciences to get her Master in Food Culture.  Five years and a life savings later, she's landed a spot at a small East Bay/Oakland chocolate company.  It may have taken a while, but who needs benefits when you have access to unlimited chocolate?

What attracted you to a good food job?

I had started to feel as if politics was zapping my soul, so I made the decision to follow my passion, not paychecks - and that was food.  I was wanted to work on something that had meaning to me and always made me happy.

How did your previous work or life experience prepare you for a good food job?

Previous life experiences gave me an interest in, and appreciation for, good food.  Eating, traveling, learning about food - those were the things that excited me.  My previous job as a lobbyist gave me a solid foundation in the care and feeding of clients and colleagues and those skills translate well to dealing with consumers.  Combined, these experiences have given me the ability to understand, recognize, talk and write about good food.

What advice do you have for others in search of a good food job?

Talk to everyone you can and check this website often (Editor's Note: We did not pay her to say that).  It feels like our country is (finally) getting serious about food, good food, and that the kinds of jobs we want and the kinds of companies we want to work for, are just now being created, often by us!  Creativity and persistence are building a new food world paradigm.   

If you could be compensated for your work with something other than money, what would it be?

Travel, travel, travel.  Food, food, food.