From South Carolina to Italy: A day in the life of a NYC food editor

Some days as a food editor are spent at my desk writing, editing photos, answering emails, and trying to make deadlines. And then there are days when I leave physical therapy already tired, get some work done, look at the clock and realize, “Wait. Wasn’t I supposed to be at Grand Central at 4:30 p.m?” Welcome to a day in the life of this food editor.

It was rush hour, naturally, and I was heading to the first of two assignments that evening. By the time I arrived at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal, Discover South Carolina’s “SC in the City” media preview was nearly over. No matter. I was dressed for the assignment.

My blue-and-white terrycloth dress felt appropriately coastal, and pinned to it was a Gullah pin I received during one of my previous reporting trips to South Carolina. I have visited the state twice, including Hilton Head and Ted Turner’s private island, and both trips left me with wonderful memories of the people, food, and culture I experienced there.

For one weekend, Discover South Carolina brought some of the state to New York. Vanderbilt Hall became a collection of miniature journeys: a Southern veranda, South Carolina-inspired hors d’oeuvres, a beach photo op, putting greens, a colorful floral interpretation of Charleston architecture, and a station of illustrated, already-stamped postcards ready to mail. Who gets a postcard anymore?

Getting there late also gave me time to reconnect with members of the South Carolina tourism community I had met on previous trips. There were hugs, memories, and invitations to come back. In the middle of Manhattan, it began to feel less like a tourism activation and more like visiting people I knew.

Then I met fifth-generation Gullah Geechee sweetgrass basket weaver Corey Alston. Someone had already told me I needed to meet him, but Alston found me first. He spotted the woman in the blue-and-white dress with the big hair, introduced himself and then noticed my pin. “Are you Gullah?”

I am not, I told him, but I had spent time in South Carolina and had been deeply moved by my experiences there. Soon we were talking about people we both knew or knew of, including Chef Bernard Bennett of Okàn and KJ Kearney, and about the Black food and cultural community that can make a very big world suddenly feel small.

Later, I watched Alston work on a sweetgrass basket he had already been weaving for days, carrying forward a Gullah Geechee tradition passed through generations. Before I left, a sweetgrass rose went behind my ear. I also carried home a tote filled with tastes and scents of South Carolina, from benne wafers and pecan brittle to a fragrance layered with jasmine, gardenia, white peach, cedarwood and amber. The sweetgrass rose needed no perfumer. It smelled green and earthy all on its own.

I could have called it a night. Instead, assignment number two was waiting. I hopped on the train and headed downtown to My Cooking Party in Chelsea. This time, the evening took me from South Carolina to Italy without leaving Manhattan.

The Distinctly Deliciously European event celebrated two of Italy’s protected culinary treasures: Grana Padano PDO and Prosciutto di Parma PDO. Over aperitivo and tastings, representatives explained what makes the products distinctive; how and where they are produced, and why those geographic designations matter.

Then we got our hands dirty. Or, more accurately, floury. Chef Matheo Pisciotta led us through making ravioli with pumpkin and prosciutto and spinach fillings, along with risotto balls stuffed with mushroom duxelles.

This is the part of my job that lets my food nerd flag fly freely. Tell me why the cheese is made that way. Tell me where the prosciutto comes from. Show me the wheel. Give me the pasta dough. I am in.

After cooking came dinner, wine, and conversation. Somewhere between the pasta and dinner, I also made a new friend in food media. That counts as part of the job, too.

Eventually, I made my way home exhausted after two assignments and two very different culinary journeys in one New York evening. But I get to be nerdy about food for a living. I get to learn from people carrying traditions forward, reconnect with people and places that have meant something to me, meet new people along the way and share those experiences with you.

Not a bad day at the office.

Thanks for reading and happy eating!

Kysha Harris is a chef, culinary producer, and food editor for the NY Amsterdam News. As a consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service in NYC for over 23 years, she remains on the hunt for the city’s next great bite. Follow her on Instagram and on Facebook, @SCHOPnyc.

Questions, comments, requests, feedback, invitations! Email us at AmNewsFOOD@SCHOPnyc.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, @NYAmNewsFOOD.