About

I enjoy food exploration and combining farm-style cooking with urban flavors. I sometimes dream of leaving the city life and returning to our family farm in Michigan where I learned how to cook, raise produce and livestock, butcher our own meat, forage for nuts and wild mushrooms, and to preserve foods for the year ahead.

(I think there’s a reality show just waiting to happen - city slicker returns to historic family farm to re-learn how to live off the land, or better yet, returns home to share urban flavors and cooking methods by setting up a series of cooking classes for his childhood classmates. Hmmm, need to contemplate this!)

My education includes a BA in Creative Writing and an MLS in Information Science. My career started in the internet industry where I’ve worked the leading auction marketplace (yes, that one) and a search engine (no, not that one). In 2009, I traded in Silicon Valley California for Vancouver BC and I am enjoying the change of pace, although I travel frequently between both countries.

Want to hire me?

I am a freelance writer open to all types of writing opportunities:

• food columns
• feature articles
• recipe development
• cookbooks (proposal in progress)

Published writing:
The Washington Post - ‘EDF Realization: Size Doesn’t Matter’
Chefs.com - ‘Paradise Found: Granville Island Public Market’
Chicago Sun-Times - ‘Turkish Sweet Potato & Apricot Rolls’
Chicago Sun-Times - ‘An Alternative Pumpkin Pie’
Southtown Star - ‘How to Naturally Dye Easter Eggs’
Paper Palate - ‘Exploring Ethnic French Cooking’
Just Baking - ‘Hazelnut Flour Power’
TheFind.com - ‘Mother’s Day Gift Guide’

Press mentions:
Tipnut.com - ‘55 Homemade Popsicle Recipes’
Serious Eats - ‘Blogwatch: Chinese Braised Ribs’
Slashfood - ‘Watermelon Week at Eating Out Loud’
The Kitchn - ‘Spaetzle for Breakfast’
The Kitchn - ‘Delicious Links’

Background

After receiving BA (creative writing) and MLS degrees, my career focused on internet product management. I started Eating Out Loud in early 2007 as a creative outlet for writing and sharing my kitchen experiences, blending the recipes from the farm where I grew up with modern flavors found in the urban center I now call home.

When I’m not exploring new flavors, I’m usually reworking family recipes (and creating a few new ones of my own). And, I’m becoming increasingly obsessed with rediscovering and reliving old, handwritten recipes. My collection includes several hundred recipes.

Ok, some more about Allen …

I am the creative type. In addition to cooking and baking, I enjoy making ‘things’ and more importantly, enjoy *learning* how to make things. It’s often said that I can’t stick with any particular hobby, well — it’s mostly true. I enjoy the pursuit of learning many different arts and crafts, it’s all about the journey. Here are a few of my creative outlets from over the years …

Sous Chef & Cleaning Staff

In our household, you’ll often hear me referring to Joe (Sous Chef) and Bobby (Cleaning Staff). These two guys keep the kitchen running smoothly while I fuss over boiling pots and accidentally knock dirty spoons off the counter and onto the floor. They also patiently wait for dinner while I photograph it. In the past 2 years, we’ve rarely eaten a piping hot meal — it’s always lukewarm, at best.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you enjoy reading my site and learning more about what I’m making in my kitchen. I welcome your feedback at any time.

–Allen
allen [at] eatingoutloud [dot] com
Vancouver, BC Canada

Places to find me on the web:
Allen @eBay.com
Allen @YouTube.com
Allen @Amazon.com
Allen @LinkedIn.com
Allen @43Things
Allen @Shine