Food & Wine USA - (11)November 2020

THE STUDENTS

WHEN THE WORLD SHUT DOWN, students at Food and Finance High School

got to work. At this culinary-focused New York City public school, the

junior class typically spends all year preparing for their Spring Showcase,

an event that serves as a culmination of what they’ve learned over the past

three years. But last year’s juniors, homebound because of the pandemic

and with the Black Lives Matter protests as a constant backdrop, pivoted

away from tradition. Instead, this group of 16- and 17-year-olds reported,

wrote, illustrated, and designed a food magazine, called Pass the Spatula,

that celebrated their showcase theme: trailblazing chefs of color. (The

inaugural issue included profiles of Padma Lakshmi, Carla Hall, and Kwame

Onwuachi.) Food & Wine convened nine students over Zoom to discuss

their experience producing Pass the Spatula and how they hope to change

the food industry for the better.

NOVEMBER 2020 33

Order Pass the Spatula at passthespatula.com ($10 for a

print copy and $5 for the digital version). Most of the pro-

ceeds will fund a school club for political activism.

The savvy students

The future of food media is filled with hope—just take it from the NYC-based high

school students who are hard at work on their new magazine, Pass the Spatula.

KAELYN ALEXANDER STAFF WRITER

JADE ATKINS EDITOR IN CHIEF

MARIA GONZALEZ STAFF WRITER

CHAYIL HYLAND CO-CREATIVE DIRECTOR

TARICK ROGERS STAFF WRITER

HASANAH SABREE CO-CREATIVE DIRECTOR

MICHAEL STANTON DISTRIBUTION

DIRECTOR

ANTHONY TRABASAS HEAD OF PR,

MARKETING, AND SOCIAL MEDIA

PAOLA ZEVALLOS STAFF WRITER

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES

GONZALEZ: “The

hardest part was com-

munication. We all live in

different boroughs, and

it wasn’t good enough to

just text.”

ATKINS: “Trying to talk

to our mentors or chefs

because they’re busy

with COVID, the protests,

and their businesses.”

SABREE: “You always

feel like you’re emailing

someone too much or

asking too many ques-

tions, but that’s some-

thing you have to do.”

TRABASAS: “Learning

professional skills, like

how to reach out to

people that show interest

in the magazine and how

to network.”

THE BIGGEST REWARDS

TRABASAS: “I am pretty

new to this country;

I’ve been in New York

for about a year, so the

opportunity to be in The

New York Times, working

with some of the biggest

people in the industry, is

amazing.”

GONZALEZ: “Seeing

the layout and our hard

work .”

ROGERS: “Being able

to talk to chef Lazarus

Lynch. If this pandemic

hadn’t happened, we

wouldn’t have this

magazine.”

POINTS OF PRIDE

SABREE: “We don’t just

talk about chefs; we

also represent them in

illustrations. We try to

make the magazine look

like kids made it, with

quizzes and illustrations

that make it more fun for

readers.”

HYLAND: “There are

a lot of subtle design

elements that make a

statement. When we

were drawing the cover,

I had the idea to make it

the Black Lives Matter

fist with a spatula in its

hand.”

ROGERS: “We put a lot

of work and effort into

it, from the staff writers

to the people behind the

scenes.”

CAREER PATHS

GONZALEZ: “After speak-

ing with [chef and well-

ness advocate] Sophia

Roe, I felt like I could do

more than just cook—like

use cooking for activism.”

ROGERS: “Before the

magazine, I thought the

only thing I’d want to do is

cook, but when we were

developing recipes and

food photography, I real-

ized how much fun that

was.”

ZEVALLOS: “After talking

with Carla Hall, I still feel

like cooking is the right

path for me.”

TRABASAS: “Going into

this project, I was more

interested in the cooking

aspect. After working on

the PR side, I’m consider-

ing food media.”

HOW THE INDUSTRY

NEEDS TO CHANGE

HYLAND: “Last year, I

had an opportunity to

work at Marta in Manhat-

tan. I had a really great

time but realized that

people of color weren’t

in high positions. By the

time I graduate from col-

lege or whenever I work

in a kitchen, I want to see

diversity. I want to look up

to a head chef that looks

like me.”

SABREE: “I want to see

children think of them-

selves as future owners

of restaurants and not

just working there. I want

students to know that you

don’t always have to work

for a big name—you can

be that big name.”

STANTON: “To include

everybody, no matter

their background or their

beliefs, and to celebrate

food for food.”

WHAT COMES NEXT

ALEXANDER: “I hope the

magazine reaches young

aspiring chefs of color so

they can see a magazine

full of people who made it.

STANTON: “The whole

purpose of the magazine

is to pass the spatula on

to the next generation, to

motivate anybody that

has a dream.”