Hello and welcome! If you’ve found your way here, I have to assume you’re obsessed with food-- or at the very least, someone who enjoys eating (which means I like you already.)
What is the Food Lover’s Dispatch?
Food Lover’s Dispatch is my very first newsletter and my first foray into structured weekly writing (unless you count my participation in my middle school’s competitive essay-writing squad, Power of the Pen). We’re going to talk about food and food culture. We’re going to seek out the best hidden gems New York has to offer from roti in Little Guayana to khachapuri in Sheepshead Bay. And we’re going to do a lot of cooking. If you subscribe you can expect weekly newsletters straight to your inbox covering all the above plus bonus content including everything from videos and voice notes to discussion threads and Q&A sessions that you can participate in.
But let’s back it up a second.
What gives me the right?
My podcast-hosting friend once told me that the way she asks her guests about their background and qualifications is by asking them: what gives you the right? So let me tell you what gives *me* the right.
My name’s Emily. I wear many hats, but at my core I’m a food and culture-obsessed storyteller who’s been writing in some form for many years. There’s a good chance you’re familiar with my Instagram account, @foodloversdiary, where I wax poetic about everything from the best pork buns I’ve ever had in the mall of a Chinatown basement to regional Thai cooking in Elmhurst. You might’ve listened to my limited series podcast named after my Babushka where I go into detail about all the ways that my own immigrant family upbringing has shaped my life. Or maybe you’ve gone to one of my pasta pop-up dinners or purchased one of my recipe e-books?? There’s also a chance we’ve come across each other at any point during my 15-year career in food and restaurants, where I’ve been everything from a hostess to a line cook (*realizes at the time of writing this means I’ve worked in restaurants for essentially half my life*).
My experience growing up as part of an immigrant family in suburban Ohio has been the primary catalyst for my career. Through witnessing how my family was different from those around us from the way we spoke to the way we ate, I became obsessed with immigrant culture and have made it my mission to highlight diverse and marginalized voices through the lens of food.
How much does it cost?
Signing up to receive weekly newsletters is free but if you’d like to support this publication financially I will *not* say no - plus, you’ll receive some bonus content and perks if you do. You can support on a monthly basis for $5/month, an annual basis for $49/year, or you can become a “regular” (a true, unconditional fan) and support on an annual basis for $125 or whatever you choose. FLD regulars will receive a copy of my digital dumpling cookbook upon subscribing. No matter what, I’m so happy to have you❤️
