At 6am this morning I was taking a break from paying bills online and stopped by one of my favorite web-sites, ChowHound.com, now part of Chow.com, a former food magazine. I've been a reader and lurker on the discussion forum there since 1999, and a regular poster since around 2001-2002, or thereabouts. Today there was a question posted: What food job would you like?

I thought about it and posted my answer, which you can see after the jump below. The thing about this is that where I am in my life right now, is a direct result of having a friend insist that I read Chowhound.com many years ago. Finding a forum where people could talk about food opened my eyes and changed my life. I got a bug in my head that lead to me doing massive research on food, studying, learning, and then teaching as well. Then one day I asked myself: What food job would I like? And I came up with my answer.

So what about you? What food job would you like?
What food job would you like?

Back in 2002 I asked myself this very question. I spent two months thinking about my fantasy food job. I was a mental health counselor working with rescue worker trauma and was burnt out. Prior to that I had been a wilderness guide, corporate trainer, and adventure therapist. But, after high school and before college I had worked in retail wine and spirits. I had also done some private chef and caterer gigs.

One day I taped large sheets of poster paper to the walls in my home office and started brain-storming about food jobs. I wrote down every idea, crack pot or not. I spent several months thinking about what food/beverage jobs I really wanted.

While doing this I studied at the French Culinary Institute in the evenings fall of 2002 just for the fun of it. I had no real plan at this point, but wanted to improve my kitchen skills. In late fall 2002 and winter 2003 I quit counseling and worked on a start-up dairy farm learning to make artisanal cheese and bake brick oven, rustic bread. After that I worked on a ship-based university as a counselor again, but got to travel around the world. I took courses at every culinary school I could during my travels, eventually on five continents.

I became a food and beverage business consultant through chance. I was at a local farmers market chatting with a farmer/vendor in Spring 2005 and suddenly ideas started spilling from my mouth. He asked me for my business card and asked my consulting fees. I ran home and printed out some business cards and quoted a fee. He hired me to help him develop food products like goats milk yogurt, for marketing, etc. I worked part-time with a ton of farms and food businesses doing all kinds of things, while having a small private counseling practice.

Then in fall 2006 I applied for and got a food and beverage writing position online. I still do this but also write for magazines & newspapers and I also do wine/spirits reviews. I closed down my counseling practice and became a part-time writer and part-time food business consultant, which added up to 1-1/2 jobs and lots of fun.

I entered cocktail contests starting in 2006 and did very well, so I started mixology consulting. Then this year I was asked to be a spirits judge as well, with a focus on rum and gin.

Now I do all of the above, and as of last December I became a partner in a small winery that was six years old and doing very well. We just opening a small craft brewery, and I will have an artisanal distillery opening in the next few months.

So I have my fantasy food job right now. Basically the bulk of it came about in less than two years. I had started out with a two year, three year, five year, and ten year plan. I've surpassed my ten year plan in three years and can't wait to see what new and fun things happen!