Feeding Ourselves: Eliza Martin | GP Interview #24
By: Raman Frey
Tags: Teaching, Learning, Chefs, Food, Interview

Eliza and Brian romance some asparagus out at Hot Springs Ranch in Nevada

Our friend Eliza Martin is a chef, educator and speaker on topics related to personal empowerment through confidence in the kitchen. She imagines a society where nearly anyone can work with any simple ingredients to provide themselves and loved ones with healthy and delicious meals.

After working her way up the restaurant chain from line cook to Executive Chef in NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco, and serving on the Rachael Ray Show and at Saveur Magazine, Eliza became a “Chopped” Champion and won a James Beard competition.

Trained in a wide range of cuisines, from Italian, to Indian to Creole, Eliza has a gift for improvisation and engaging the beginner, from 4 to 80+ years old. Today she serves as an instructor at Culinary Artistas in San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square neighborhood.

Culinary Artistas Kitchen near Ghirardelli Square

GP: So you care a lot about kids, food and their ability to prepare food for themselves. How does this empower kids? What is it like teaching kids in the midst of a pandemic?

EM: Children are incredibly resilient and ease into change incredibly well, often better than adults. But they are also fragile and at times need extra care. Kids are grateful for, but a little nervous about, reentry into tiny amounts of social interactions.

In many ways, children mirror or reproduce their families’ struggles right now. If there was tension at home, in would manifest in each child’s mood, behavior, distraction. Cooking, I hope (and believe) was their outlet, a way to bring focus and creative confidence.

GP: How have things shifted in your teaching? You used to have 30 kids at a time, age 4 to 10, kind of a happy anarchy. Now you have essentially quarantined pods of 12 kids at a time. What is this like for them? What are they teaching you?

EM: The kiddos I’m hanging out with sometimes have emotional breakdowns halfway through our three weeks together. They were releasing pent up angst! Using their hands, getting VISCERAL learning, getting a little bit of a “taste” of normalcy, and a huge new sense of empowerment by FEEDING themselves.

GP: There are kinesthetic theories of learning, that when we involve our hands and move our bodies, we retain and internalize new knowledge better. What has been your experience here? What is your goal for enriching these kids lives?

EM: Marrying action to a process really helps kids to understand the WHY. They aren’t just watching food get crafted. They physically measure, mix, chop and stir their way to dish completion. Through this process, they understand why the food they crafted looks and tastes the way it does.

There is a huge sense of pride that results from crafting a dish “all by yourself,” and an enormous amount of more adventurous tasting that results. This applies to adults as well.

Alice Waters, image courtesy of Wikipedia

GP: Tell us a little bit about your relationship with farmers and food producers. Who are some of the local people you admire most and what do you admire about them?

EM: Alice. Freaking. Waters. She is a gem. Teach a man to fish.

GP: What have you seen in terms of food security for people in the midst of this economic crisis? How can the community of chefs help to support food security for people who may be in danger of going hungry?

EM: To be frank, I think at the moment chefs are in danger of being directly affected by the economic crisis. If we had an organizing force (OH HI RAMAN), we may be able to make some real difference in the form of a soup kitchen. We might even be capable of calling on the corporate bay clans to be a part of a BOGO (Buy One Give One): buy a ticket to an event, give a meal to a family…..just brainstorming here….

GP: How do you think the food and hospitality industries will change as a result of all of these crises? What kind of world will chefs and kitchen staff be walking into on the tail end of this pandemic? Are there any silver linings in how eating together will change?

EM: I feel desperately worried for my line cook friends. They have a very specific, tremendously useful skillset that is essential to restaurant service. But so many of those doors have closed.

I will say for the average person stuck at home, food has become a roller coaster. At first everyone wanted to be pro sour-dough makers. Then cooking started to become a burden, a bit redundant. Kitchen fatigue is a thing.

My hope is that folks challenge themselves to try a few new things during those ruts.

I also hope that because people are at home more than ever, meal time might become more of a sacred practice; truly the one thing we can control in these desperate times is what we eat. If we can turn it into a meditation…or at least a conscious one framed by gratitude, that might allow our brains a bit of quiet and some interaction with loved ones.

GP: In a world where so much feels out of our control, is food an area of potential autonomy, the one variable where we have power? Tell us a little about The Yoga of Eating and your hopes for the sacredness of mealtimes.

EM: Feeding ourselves and each other is an act of love. When we can create meal time with that in mind, it’s powerful. We nourish our bodies every time we eat. Truly maternal care.

GP: How are you and Brian holding up? Who gives you feelings of solidarity and who brings you hope? Is all of this social isolation ironically an opportunity to build community and a feeling that we have one another’s backs?

EM: My partner, Brian is a rock. He’s steadfast, stable, and we are fortunate enough to both have successful jobs.

Brian has been an example of care for me. Small tasks like doing the laundry and cleaning dishes go a real long way these days. Connection is so important right now. It’s amazing how much gratitude we can feel for such little moments these days.

Vanessa Silva, founder of Culinary Artistas

GP: Tell us a little about Vanessa Silva and your work at Culinary Artistas? How are you also supporting college students these days?

EM: I’ve been partnering with colleges to run Instagram takeovers and special classes for college students. It’s my mission to get young adults cooking for themselves, alone or for friends. I’m starting to work on virtual keynotes at colleges, and homecoming events with family cook-alongs! :)