When did you know that you wanted to work in food?

I came to New York to pursue acting, but after five years of temping in a bank and a cross-country tour performing "Don Quixote" at high schools, I knew something had to change. I asked myself what else I could do with my life, and I realized that I had always loved cooking. My mom is an amazing, adventurous cook, and a big entertainer. I was her sous chef starting at age five (seriously!), and so cooking is in my blood. I was always cooking for friends and family but had never considered it as a career.

At my yoga center there was a help wanted ad for a vegetarian cook at the Sewall House yoga retreat in Northern Maine. I got the gig and spent the summer cooking. I loved the experience and the guests loved the food. That fall, I went to cooking school at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City.

How did you get your current good food job?

After cooking school, I worked in several restaurants in San Francisco and New York. Eventually I started a seasonal, sustainable catering company, Lucid Food. People were really excited that you could get catered food that was elegant and delicious, but sourced from the farmer's market and the waste was composted. I wanted to share my eco-friendly kitchen tips and seasonal recipes with a wider audience, so I wrote my first cookbook, Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life. In terms of getting it published, I had no idea what I was doing. One of the chefs I had worked for had written a book, so I asked him to connect me with his editor. I sent my book proposal directly to her, and she accepted it. Even though I already had the contract, I found a literary agent to work with me. He read over my contract, helped negotiated the fine points, and guided me through the whole process of publishing a book.

Now that I have two books out, the most recent being The New Persian Kitchen, I do a lot of food writing, I teach cooking classes, and do the occasional catered event. My favorite thing that I do these days is teaming up with restaurants to do "Persian pop-up" dinners. This summer I helped open a new Persian restaurant in New York, Café Nadery, where I designed the menu. I love that I still get to cook in restaurants, and have the thrill of putting on an event for the public, while a lot of the time I still get to be seriously nerdy academic and research stuff like the Jewish contribution to Iranian food.

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

Improv was really good training for teaching cooking classes!

What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome in pursuing your Good Food Job dream?

I've never been strong at math, and I had to write a business plan to get my catering company organized. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but I had to go to tons of (free) business classes through the public library, and SCORE, in order to be able to figure it out. It was frustrating, and it took me a long time, but it was well worth the effort.

What can you identify as the greatest opportunities in food right now?

There's a real demand for urban people to get good quality, local food. The need is being met on a very personal level by places like the meal delivery service Mealku, the grocery delivery service good eggs, and CSA's. People are craving a sense of community, and food is such a good way to bring people together. So many wonderful businesses are popping up to fill that need: the Pantry at Delancey where you take a cooking class and have dinner; the cookbook stores Omnivore Books and The Book Larder where they have fun foodie events; and the website food52 where you're really encouraged to interact with other readers and share your story. And people are having so much fun playing with the traditional concept of a restaurant with supper clubs, pop-up dinners, places like City Grit that host guest chefs, Eat With which helps you find local homes to eat in when you travel, and the Conflict Kitchen which uses food to promote peace and diplomacy. It's so exciting to experience sharing food with strangers in these different settings.

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

I'd love to come together with a group of people for a home-cooked meal. How cool would that be if once a week you got to hang out with other friendly folks, eat real food, and enjoy good conversation, simply as a part of your job?