This week, let us introduce you to one spectacular woman! Jennie Schacht, a published author, writer, editor and blogger, knows food. From uncovering previously undocumented Italian dishes to concocting 40 – yes count ’em: 40 – ice cream recipes, Jennie is a culinary creative you want to know! Speaking of ice cream… I wonder how many of those recipes could make it into new Knickerbocker Glories? I think I feel an experiment coming on. Jennie is our Feature Food Innovator this week because let’s face it, anyone who’s had the opportunity to actually meet Julia Child has to be pretty incredible!

Hi Jennie! It’s so great to have you here today. Can you briefly tell us how you came to do what you do?

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I’m not sure there’s a brief answer but I’ll try! My background is in social welfare but I’ve always been intrigued by the food business, and baking in particular. After making a successful career writing grant proposals for non-profit organizations I realized my third grade teacher was wrong–I actually can write! So I decided to combine my love of the kitchen with my writing, and voilà!

You certainly showed them! ha! So then what’s the main goal or focus of your site & can you tell us a bit about your newest book?

The focus of my site is to connect with my readers, both by sharing information about my books and by providing a window into my kitchen.

I was fortunate to have two books come out in 2013. i scream SANDWICH! includes 40 recipes for—you guessed it—ice cream sandwiches, ranging from the nostalgic (vanilla ice cream on soft chocolate cookie bars) to the downright wacky (peanut butter + honey ice cream with fruit preserves on buttered toast). The book shares everything you need to know to make your own ice creams, cookies and bars, and spreads and toppings. It also has lots of shortcuts so that anyone can easily make these frozen treats.

For Southern Italian Desserts, I worked with Rosetta Costantino to share the desserts of her native Calabria, as well as neighboring Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, and Sicily, which together make up the South of Italy. I had the pleasure of spending many afternoons with Rosetta and her family in her kitchen, learning about the sweets of this area and the history that influenced their development. This was a very exciting project as many of these desserts have never before been documented in writing—even in Italian.

That’s amazing! What a creative feat! What is it that inspires you so about food?

Food is so central to the way we relate to one another. Being fed is one of first ways in which we experience closeness and love, and I think it remains a quintessential means of connection. I find food fascinating from both a creative and scientific point of view. It’s a true blend of art and science, and there’s always something new to learn and explore.

Where does your personal culinary inspiration come from?

Most everywhere: the farmers’ market, specialty food stores, books, blogs, photographs, my friends’ kitchens.

What’s your most memorable food experience?

That would probably have to be sitting next to Julia Child at lunch during the Symposium for Professional Food Writers. It was 1995 and I was just considering a career change to food writing. She was kind enough to offer to read my first book proposal, and she wrote me a very kind and encouraging letter back. She had a policy not to endorse writers, though, lest she be swamped with requests, so I never had a chance to share it.

That. Is. Amazing. Thinking about the evolution of cooking, from Julia Child to today, what does food or kitchen innovation mean to you?

Walking the line between tradition and innovation is tricky. Trends come and go but surely many important innovations have completely changed the world of food: the development of new techniques, new kitchen equipment, and even the more generalized innovations in technology all affect what I do in my kitchen. Still, whether a dish is traditional or innovative is less important, I think, than whether it’s good, looks appealing, can be produced sustainably, and provides true sustenance to the person who consumes it.

What’s one thing you just can’t live without in the kitchen?

Probably a kitchen scale. And a small offset spatula. I use mine constantly. Though I wouldn’t get very far without my oven and stove-top, refrigerator and freezer, pots and pans, spoons and spatulas, bowls, knives, and many other tools we often take for granted.

True. So then what’s the one thing you CAN live without in the kitchen?

Distraction. I love the idea of cooking with friends, but in the end I do best when I can focus. I love losing myself in my kitchen world.

Do you have any food or ingredient obsessions?

Bread. I love making it, cutting it, toasting it, eating it. I use a natural starter I developed myself and it is magic to me every time—that those wild yeasts collected from the air into a mixture flour and water can turn flour (and other ingredients) into something so structured and satisfying. Every time I bake a loaf of bread I am certain that it will just sit there, that it won’t rise, but every time it does.

Is there anything you refuse to cook with or eat?

I stopped eating meat in 1975 because I don’t think it’s a good environmental choice, and I’m not sure it’s a very nutritious choice, either, at least the way most animals are raised. I will occasionally eat sustainably raised chicken or fish, but I largely enjoy a vegetarian diet.

In your opinion, is there such thing as food aphrodisiacs?

I think a lot of food is sexy, and eating it with someone you love is even sexier, but I can’t say I’ve experienced any particular food as an aphrodisiac. Maybe fresh figs. Figs are extremely sensual.

What’s the most interesting or important thing in your food world right now?

The most interesting thing about my food world is that it’s constantly changing.

I love that! Change is a good thing. Can you tell me what’s been the hardest (and most valuable) lessons you’ve ever learned?

In the school of hard knocks, it’s been difficult to learn that being a reasonably successful published author brings no guarantee of any reasonable kind of income. I’m fortunate that I have a second career and a wife to fill in the gaps. Still, I work really hard and it would seem reasonable to have that work provide a decent income. Most people I know working anywhere in the food industry are doing it for the love, not the money.

That’s too true. So if not for money, then how do you define success in the kitchen?

I suppose I consider my kitchen output successful if someone enjoys eating it.

Every night we recommend a dinner idea for our audience with a drool worthy photograph. What’s your go-to dish for your supper?

My go-to dinner is delicious but I’m not sure I’d call it drool worthy. Often it’s some spontaneous constellation of whatever is on hand in the kitchen. Or pasta with whatever vegetables are in season and a salad. I’ve been making a lot of pizza lately, making the dough using my starter and local whole-milled flour from Community Grains, and baking it on the Baking Steel (which they kindly provided me to try out). Those pizzas can be pretty gorgeous, but more typically, the drooling starts with dessert. Check out these mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches, for example.

We also have a series where people tell us about the last meal they’ll ever eat (if given the option, of course). What would be your last meal ever? Why?

That depends entirely on whether I know it’s my last meal, and when it happens!

Do you have anything to say to someone who is inspiring to follow in your footsteps?

Don’t follow in someone else’s footsteps—set out on your own path!

I think that’s such an important part of being in the kitchen – or really, being creative in any facet Jennie. Setting out on our own paths and using our experiences and knowledge to generate new ideas is the very foundation of innovation. And delicious food.

Find Jennie Schacht: Fork & Swoon | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Google+ | LinkedIn

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Know someone who would be a good fit for our Feature Food Innovator series? Maybe it’s you! Comment below or throw us an email to let us know!

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