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Gabriel Cole
Culinary Curator
Airbnb
July 02, 2013

Not many of us are lucky enough as teenagers to know what we want to do with our lives. Gabriel was making lemons into lemonade as early as his junior year of high school, and today he has managed to achieve two of the loftiest career goals that any one of us can aspire to: creating his own good food company, Fare Resources, and securing an influential role at another creative, well-established company like Airbnb.

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

My initial foray into food came from depression and anxiety as an angsty adolescent. My mother worked at my high school and we weren't getting along. We now thankfully have an incredible relationship but during that time I needed to get out of that school, so I ended up attending vocational school (in culinary arts) during my junior year. It was the first thing that was instantly gratifying, kinesthetic, connected me to all sorts of people and gave me a livelihood I could be proud of. It also is one of the easiest way to a person's heart and that has always really resonated with me.

How did you get your current good food job?

I started Fare Resources after working with some great local organizations (La Cocina, Slow Food Nation, CUESA, Doof) and identifying a need to support food entrepreneurs through pragmatic, resource-based business planning.

My goal was to extend access and affordability of the quality food I'm able to eat every day to more people, and to empower a new generation of savvy and viable food business owners.

After working as a consultant for Airbnb for about a year they were able to persuade me away from the dream job I created at Fare Resources, one of the few companies in the world who could do so. I'm happy to report that since beginning work with Airbnb in July of 2012, Fare Resources has grown as a local, ambitious business and will continue on thanks to the brain trust of invaluable and inspiring team players. While at Airbnb, I'll be helping to continually build the most extraordinary office food program in the world, encompassing Airbnb's core values and setting a standard for responsible office food service.

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

Originally from Vermont, I grew up in a rural-urban neighborhood surrounded by families, cows, forest and fields. I'm an entrepreneur having started eight businesses since grade school: chocolate truffles, pancake mix, Jewish kosher deli, an incubator kitchen, a ramen shop, two catering companies and a food consultancy. I raise ducks, grow food/save seed/preserve, and like having fierce conversations. I have always welcomed a good challenge and continue to put myself in uncomfortable situations, as that's where the deepest learning and growth takes place. I also like referring to all this as - living life to the fullest.

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

In the food world, as many of you know there are constant obstacles to overcome. I've found simply listening to be an enormous and sometimes tedious task. With so much at stake in business, and as our roles evolve with clients over the course of a project, I'm constantly honing my listening and responsiveness. At the end of the day isn't that one of the things we all want? To be heard and supported.

My current day-to-day obstacle is keeping track of all the honey pots I have my finger in. Sometimes I get overwhelmed and feel I've taken on too much ? continuing to develop Fare Resources as a powerful contributor to the sector alongside making big money decisions at a company that has the opportunity to create a serious model for new food economy. But then I just go to yoga, and stay up an hour later, and cook some duck eggs for a late night snack, and level out my emotions. Balance is the key to perseverance.

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

As the price of organic continues to subside and the number of young farmers and farmers markets increases I see the continued push towards nutrient-rich food to outlying communities in need of real food. It is a critical part of awareness to get farmers in front of people and continue conversations around how to produce, procure, store, cook and preserve. On a basic level - I really hope someday - everyone will be able to grow, chop and cook an onion.

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

I am an avid barterer and love trading seeds, eggs, meat, coffee, labor, dairy, kombucha, vinegar and produce. Someday I want to swap clothes, fuel, fruit, trees, and land.

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