Tasty Trips: Pennsylvania’s Culinary Trails with CRAFT at Chatham
In a time when we’re cautiously hoping for vacations, road trips, and exploring new places in a COVID-safe world, the Pennsylvania Tourism Office has released its annual Happy Traveler travel guide to inspire future getaways. The guide’s feature story showcases the delicious offerings of Pennsylvania with self-guided culinary trails created through a partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and Chatham University’s Center for Regional Agriculture, Food, and Transformation (CRAFT). Master of Food Studies students Archish Kashikar MAFS ‘21 and Toni C. Simpson MAFS ‘21 lead the way in developing recipes for the trails. We talk with Toni and Archish about what it was like to work on this Pennsylvania-positive project.
Tell us about the Culinary Trails Project and your role within it?
Toni C. Simpson, MAFS ‘21
Toni C. Simpson: The culinary trails project was designed as a self guided tour to learn about the culinary heritage of Western PA, through recreation and food. Pennsylvania has a long rich culinary history as it was once known as the country’s breadbasket because of the all the wheat that was grown here. Along with grains many other products are cultivated and so there are plenty of by products like whiskey, pies, jams, sausages, dried fruit, breads etc. so in an effort to highlight the gastronomic traditions of the region and encourage economic activity for the business the trail were researched and narrative developed by culinary historian Mary Miller.
Using the history and papers developed by Mary as a guide, my role was to create recipes based on the businesses and their products on the trails. My goal was to design recipes that ranged in difficulty, included products from the businesses and offered the patrons an avenue to walk down memory lane so to speak through food after their time on the trails. I developed the grain and apple recipes.
Archish Kashikar: The culinary trails were developed to highlight the rich culinary heritage and food traditions this state has to offer. The trails were developed under a number of themes such as “apples”, “grains,” or even “charcuterie.” The trails are also meant to bring attention to regional farms and food businesses, allowing them to better connect with tourists and create an understanding of a local food system.
Being a Graduate Consultant at CRAFT’s Food Innovation lab gave me the opportunity to develop recipes based on a few of these culinary trails. I developed several recipes for the “Fermentation” and “Charcuterie” trails, that use products highlighted by the trail while also trying to align with the cultural diversity Pennsylvania has to offer.
Did this experience align with your career goals, and did anything surprise you along the way?
Archish Kashikar, MAFS ‘21
Toni: Absolutely! One of my long-term goals has always been to be involved in recipe development and testing in a test kitchen. So this project fed right into that realm. There as so much opportunity to learn about the history of Western PA. The Native American tribes who were here and their cooking techniques and all of the other peoples who have contributed to the culinary landscape of the region. It was also interesting to see the progression of and then return to early techniques. My favorite part was the actual recipe testing, getting the feedback from the tasting panels and reworking the recipes to integrate their opinions thereby making for delicious dishes!
Archish: This experience allowed me to focus on my career goal of being a Culinary Research & Development Specialist. The opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of people, products and narratives allowed me to capitalize and further polish on my expertise in food culture and food history. The surprise in this project, in my opinion, was the sheer amount of diverse food traditions and practices that are central to Pennsylvania’s culinary capital. My favorite part was the opportunity to sample and cook with ingredients I had not before, an example being locally produced elk and venison jerky.
What was it like to work on this project during the pandemic?
Archish: The pandemic certainly took away the travel opportunities that could have been a part of this project. Ideally, I would have loved to visit the farms and businesses from where we were sourcing a few of the ingredients to understand the production process and talk to the proprietors. But I am lucky to have a supportive and collaborative work environment, which has allowed us to create the best possible experience despite the pandemic.
Toni: Working during the pandemic proved a little challenging. In the initial stages where I was conceptualizing the dishes there was really no need for in-person sessions, but as the time for tasting came nearer there was some anxiety about the numbers of persons who could taste. But happily we were able to have socially distanced tastings so it worked out quite well.
What drew you to pursue Food Studies at Chatham?
Archish: Being a part of an organisation actively working to create a more sustainable food system and holistic community is what drew me to Food Studies as well as CRAFT. There is also the bonus of being surrounded encouraging, supportive, exceedingly talented peers and mentors pushing me to become the best version of myself. Specific to the culinary trails, it is very rewarding to play a role in this development and have my ideas evolve into a product that contributes to creating local awareness.
The MA Food Studies is a versatile program, that allows you to decide on a direction to take in the world of food research. The program’s interdisciplinary and hands-on nature has allowed me to capitalise on my interests, under the guidance of our professors. The connections I developed have also been an important part of my experience in this program as well!
“Working with CRAFT and their portfolio of projects allows for graduate students like myself to have real world experiences, network and offers opportunities for growth and learning in the field you want to pursue as a career.”
Toni: Toni: The Chatham Food Studies program drew me to the university. Enrollment and the need to find on campus employment lead me to CRAFT where I became engrossed in the work there. It is also great that [CRAFT] is a female-led organization with a strong emphasis on empowerment, activism, inclusivity, and justice. It is one of the loveliest environments I have ever worked in!
If anyone wants to learn about food, its history, the cultures, and all of the intersections of food, the MAFS program here at Chatham is the place to be. The faculty are the highlight of this program; they bring a myriad of knowledge and experiences to the indoor and outdoor classrooms and inspire the student to bring theirs while offering a holistic, learning environment. Difficult topics such as race and inequity are approached with respect. Plus if you are a lover of food and eating… this program is a haven for that!
Explore the Pennsylvania Happy Traveler Guide here, with the Culinary Trails project starting on page 54. CRAFT’s many offerings, including workshops, research projects, and more, can be found here. For more information on Food Studies at Chatham, check out the Master of Food Studies website here, and if you’re an undergrad, we have a Food Studies major, minor, and integrated degree program too!
