Behind Our Contributors
Melissa Baldauf
Melissa is a Los Angeles native who now calls San Francisco home. She works in online advertising by day, but her true love is food. A self-described farmers market addict, she's passionate about seasonality and sustainability and is endlessly inspired by the Bay Area's amazing local ingredients (and the chefs who use them). A weekend isn't complete without a big dinner party showcasing her market haul. Through hosting so many dinners, she discovered she wanted a bigger outlet to share her excitement about food, and now teaches private group cooking classes out of her home.
Anjali Kumar
Anjali Kumar has worked as a chef at Badia a Coltibuono in Tuscany and at Tabla in New York. Her love of languages (she speaks five, including Hindi and Italian) has brought her everywhere from Mexico to Mauritius. Anjali graduated from Brown University and Boston University School of Law. After spending several years practicing international corporate law in New York, London, Rome and Paris, Anjali created a successful handbag line featured in Vogue and Sex and the City and was named one of the "25 Hot Young International Designers of 2005" by Australian architecture and design magazine, Monument. Anjali eventually moved back to New York City to work with two internationally-respected venture philanthropy foundations and Google. She writes about food, travel and design, including a blog called Bill's Sneakers about her colleague Bill's amazing collection of sneakers. But through it all, she keeps cooking...
Alex Abrahamson
Alex is a self-proclaimed food and drink enthusiast. As a native New Yorker, Alex can remember trips to local culinary establishments as long as 15 years ago-- when he was just a boy! The unparalleled cuisine of New York City paired with his mother's wonderful cooking spurred his lifelong interest in food. Not long ago, Alex graduated from the New York Film Academy, where he studied Digital Journalism in association with NBC. There, his journalistic interests flourished and Alex learned the tricks of the trade for video, editing and production in classes taught by senior staff at NBC News.
At Behind the Burner, Alex has been able to harmoniously merge his interests in food and journalism. Alex frequently edits and shoots videos for Behind the Burner. When Alex isn't behind the camera, you can find him tucked away behind his computer editing footage, snacking (for work, of course!) or contributing to the blog. If you still can't find him, just look for the ONLY guy in the office!
Jennifer Alberts
Jennifer has always dreamed of opening her own restaurant, and has always been inspired by her father’s love of BBQ as well as Monica’s love of cooking on the TV show Friends. She is a senior at Syracuse University, where she majors in Advertising (and despises the snow). Jennifer studied abroad in Australia in the spring of 2010, where she loved exploring exotic foods and trying to mimic the accents. She will eat just about anything, especially if it contains chocolate or sweet potatoes. She loves following the new trends in the food industry, and is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Behind the Burner. Jen has always loved writing, and even wrote her first “book” when she was in 4th grade. It was 45 chapters...and 45 pages. One day Jen would like to work in the advertising field, possibly working in-house for a hotel, travel agency or restaurant.
Kara Landsman
Kara is a senior at Syracuse University majoring in magazine journalism with a minor in hospitality management. This combination comes from Kara’s love of journalism and the travel industry (with food being a huge part of that!). She has done extensive traveling with her family, including trips to Hong Kong, China, Italy and cities across America. When Kara is not at Syracuse, she’s in her home city of Washington, DC- exploring anything and everything the historical capital city has to offer. In Spring 2010, Kara studied abroad in London, England where she had the incredible opportunity to explore not only England, but also numerous other European countries. After graduating from Syracuse, she hopes to work for a lifestyle or travel magazine.
Joanna Weinstein
Joanna Weinstein is a senior at Syracuse University, dual majoring in magazine journalism and English. Although she doesn't know what life after college may be like, she is sure of one thing -- her love of writing and food. Last spring, Joanna studied in Florence, Italy and traveled throughout Europe. While abroad, she lived with an Italian family further realized her love and appreciation for food, wine, and travel. She also contributed to The Florentine, the city's magazine for English, American, and Australian residents. Now, working for Behind the Burner allows her to indulge her two passions: food and writing! When she's not in class or in the office, Joanna loves playing soccer, going to concerts and experimenting with foreign foods. Joanna hopes to someday write a book of her own and work in the media industry.
Cara Colbert
Cara's love of food began as a chubby child, when birthdays meant cake and Christmas meant cookies. For Cara, any occasion is an occasion to eat, which is why she loves to cook for others and dine out as much as possible. An adventurous eater, there isn't a food she won't taste or a recipe she won't try. When Cara isn't eating or cooking, she enjoys writing for her blog Food 4 Thought, watching the Food Network, and browsing online for the latest recipes and restaurant reviews. Although mostly a self-taught cook, Cara has taken various recreational cooking classes and attended "Culinary Boot Camp" at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Cara recently graduated from Boston College and moved to New York in hopes of pursuing a career in food writing and eating her way throughout the city.
Lindsay Rubin
Lindsay Rubin is a writer and soon-to-be graduate from Siena College with a degree in English. After traveling to six other countries, she has tasted foreign cultures and indulged her love of food. An animal lover and vegetarian, Lindsay loves eating right and supporting a health-conscious diet. You can find her scrolling through music blogs, baking biscotti or competing on the Siena Equestrian Team.
Mona Buehler
Mona was born in Germany, raised in California and now calls Park Slope, Brooklyn home. She studied at the University of California at Davis, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communications. In addition to her undergraduate degrees, she holds a Professional Sequence in Editing from the University of California at Berkeley and is pursuing professional study in Magazine Publishing/New Media at New York University. A New York-based freelance lifestyle writer and editor, she has worked in book, magazine and Web publishing and has contributed to CBS Watch! Magazine, CLEAR Magazine, Simply the Best magazine, Peachpit Press, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, among other websites and publications.
Kristen Muir
Kristen’s culinary adventure began while living in Torino, Italy as an exchange student. As she immersed herself in the culture, the love for food and wine came naturally. Upon returning to her stateside turf on the central coast of California, her journey to discover great wine continued with ease. She finished her degree in Finance at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo amidst another great wine region, Edna Valley. Similar to Divya, she led a career in finance for a few years. As her passion for wine and cooking continued to escalate, she felt urged to pursue other avenues. For the last few years, Kristen has resided in Southern New Jersey as a sales representative for an international wine distributor. She writes for her blog Eat Well with Wine and provides freelance work for sites like Behind the Burner.
Amanda Sorrentino
Amanda is currently a senior at Quinnipiac University, where she is completing her degree in Public Relations with a minor in Economics. In true chocoholic style, she considers her passion for all things chocolate a lifestyle choice. While she loves desserts, Amanda also ironically loves discovering healthy alternatives for her meals. When Amanda isn’t consuming chocolate, she likes running, cooking and blogging.
