Recipe Developer's Guide to Sweet, Sweet Success
A profile on Tesha J, my Wine Enthusiast article and opportunities for Black food professionals, and some news on upcoming events
TL;DR
My article about Indigenous Oaxaqueña-owned Mezcal Brand is live!
Recipe Developer 101
Opportunity to be featured in Food & Wine Magazine
I’ll be MIA for the free newsletter next week because I’ll be gallivanting
My article about Indigenous Oaxaqueña-owned Mezcal Brand is live!
Honestly, this was the most impactful article I’ve written in my career to date. To be welcomed into such a beautiful community of indigenous mezcaleras, to hear their stories, drink with them (and cry with one, in particular) was such a surreal experience. I feel so honored to be able to share their stories with you and I can support them, where you can.
Here is the link
Recipe Developer 101
Meet Tesha J. of Summers Flavors
What does it mean to be a recipe developer, for the people who may not know?
Recipe developers create recipes from an idea (from scratch) or recreate current recipes for the purpose of making it healthier, or more budget friendly. We sometimes work with brands or restaurants. We also, of course, just enjoy being creative with food.
How and when did you enter this career?
I got started during Covid. My passion for cooking took off when I decided to partner with a nonprofit organization preparing gourmet meals and desserts for those that were impacted financially by Covid and needed food. We prepared well over 600+ meals, 3 days a week, for families for 2 years. All free. I always had a passion for cooking so I decided to take it seriously, and get credentialed, etc. From there, I started making desserts that paired well with the meals that were served. Not only would I create desserts, but I researched wines that would pair well with specific dishes based on ingredients. The goal was to create an experience at home because we couldn’t get out at the time. I would also create a made from scratch vanilla bean and champagne ice cream with fresh raspberries. Black pepper and lime sherbet became my absolute favorite to make along with the twin sister of red velvet cake, a silky white velvet cake that was perfect, airy, and light. I, then, progressed to creating a sweet potato beignets along with gourmet donuts that would give duck donuts friendly competition. Desserts were my thing until chefs with the organization couldn’t prepare meals on a specific day of the week and I had to step in. This was an opportunity to prepare meals I’ve always thought about preparing and sharing but now it was on a larger scale. I recreated dishes from my childhood. Born in Germany and living in the south, my mom would prepare meals she made for us while living in Germany. Then we moved to Korea and my love for Korean food was born. I try to express this in majority of my meals and recipes I create and cooking with the non profit was the perfect opportunity. I worked with other professional chefs that would give feedback consistently. They would often have affluent clients and would hire me to assist in creating dishes for very large dinner parties.
What's something you know now about being a recipe developer that you wish you knew earlier?
Failing is apart of the process. The amount of times I kicked myself or doubted myself during this journey was not necessary. The goal for creating recipes and meals is to tell a story. Sometimes a recipe developer creates a story with a new recipe that will be shared between families, but oftentimes we get to replicate a recipe and tell the story that brought that particular recipe to life. The story of the ingredients used to how it was prepared. That’s the most exciting part of this journey. Understanding good food has and will always be connected to memory. This is what I wish I knew earlier.
What is a dream of yours within the culinary world? To write a book? Have a cooking show? Tell us so we can cheer you on!
I would love to have a cooking show, but my sincere wish and goal is to travel the world, exploring dishes with different cultures. Food is sometimes used as a means of retaining cultural identity. I would love to do this and share it with the world. It’s also important to understand how people from different cultures live and how they prepare meals everyday without having everything at hand. Not only do I want to understand and explore how food is prepared from various cultures, but I would love to create a nonprofit that aims at preventing hunger. Everyone deserves good food with quality ingredients regardless of their economic status. I deeply desire this for everyone. It’s sincerely my deepest wish.
Is this a job that you can do from anywhere or do you need to be based in one spot?
You can do this remotely. Sometimes brands want you to travel. It’s best to have access to specific types of kitchens and equipment. I know a recipe developer that travels but relies on friends kitchens to create recipes, but she lives her life in her van.
What kind of companies do you prefer to work for/with?
I love working with companies that allow me to be creative. Those that just give me the green light to create. Even if they have an idea in mind, allowing me to add a creative spin is always welcoming
What are 3 things that every successful recipe developer should have, in your opinion?
Imagination, passion and the Flavor Bible
Where can we find you? Socials, website, etc.
Blog: Summersflavors.com
Instagram: https://Instagram.com/Summersflavors
YouTube coming soon!
Opportunity to be featured in Food & Wine Magazine
If you know any businesses that make cannabis-based drinks, put them in the comments!! I’m working on an article for Food & Wine Magazine about this subject and I’d love to get as many Black and brown people featured as possible! Deadline to submit yourself or a business you’d like me to feature is May 10th.
I’ll be MIA for the free newsletter next week because I’ll be gallivanting
You heard that right. I will be gallivanting, the nightmare of all West Indian parents. I probably won’t have time to write two newsletters next week so if you’d like updates on what’s going down in Turkey, subscribe to the paid newsletter. It’s only $5 a month for so much travel and food content!
Tomorrow I’ll be ranting about how the stars are really harshing my mellow and how I’m mitigating the chaos as it comes (this retrograde is RETROGRADING).