Biography

Dr. Amy Trubek is Associate Professor in the Nutrition and Food Science department at the University of Vermont and Faculty Director for UVM’s graduate program in Food Systems. Trained as a cultural anthropologist and chef, her research interests include the history of the culinary profession, globalization of the food supply, the relationship between taste and place, and cooking as a cultural practice. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses, including Food and Culture, From Farm to Table: The Contemporary Food System, Qualitative Research Methods and Food Systems, Society and Policy. She is the author of Haute Cuisine: How the French Invented the Culinary Profession (2000) and The Taste of Place: A Cultural Journey into Terroir (2008) as well as numerous articles and book chapters. Dr. Trubek is involved in two long-term research initiatives, one on the taste of place and the other on cooking as a skillful practice. The taste of place research presently involves looking at the sensory experience of tasting and evaluating artisan products from Vermont with the goal of helping producers, consumers and policymakers better understand the qualities and quality of place-based food and drink. She is hard at work transforming her research on cooking as a skillful practice into a book manuscript. She is also collaborating with Cynthia Belliveau, Lisa Heldke and Jonathan Deutsch on a food, cooking and pedagogy project. Amy lives with her family on an heirloom apple orchard, where they make fresh cider, hard cider, and ice cider, and pick lots of fresh apples, pears and plums.