Blog 4

Interviewing: Jennifer Clark
Interviewer: Tabitha Clark

Jennifer Clark was born and was mainly raised in Chicago. She moved to California when she was in her 20's and that is where she met her husband.

Question 1: How did growing up in Chicago change your view on food? 
Jen: I think one of the biggest things for me growing up in the mid west, mainly Chicago was the pizza and the hotdogs.  The hotdogs are boiled and steamed which gives them a different taste , and they also have pepperonis, cucumbers, and yellow mustard which is different from the west coast style hotdogs. Pizza in Chicago has a beer crust which is a thick crust, where the west coast developed the thin crust which is nit as great as the thick crust. As far as eating habits go i was taught by my mom to have a vegetable, protein, and a starch for every meal. My grandparents did the same thing. In my dads house there was a lot of meat mainly red meat but i lived with my mom mainly, and she made alot of chicken and pasta.

Question 2:What type of food did you grow up around? 
Jen: Majority of it was Italian style of food. My mom and i were poor and we ate a lot of creamed tuna on toast (which is very good and i recommend it). We also had a lot of spaghetti with bacon and sauces that she made. My mom dated a man who was Italian and he cooked for us many times. He would make us classic Italian meals which was a change for us. We never ate lour meals at a family table, we mainly ate in front of the TV. It would be a gift if we ate at the table together.

Question 3: What is your favorite style of food?
Jen: Italian food, I like baked ziti with Italian sausage.

Question 4: What type of food do you like to cook?
Jen: Italian food because i like to cook homestyle foods like pancakes with eggs and bacon. Very homey foods but nothing elaborate. I honestly dont like to cook but i like to bake.

Question 5: What style of food does your family have?
Jen: My family didnt have a style. As a kid i was lucky if we sat down as a family to have dinner. A lot of mac and cheese with tuna was severed for dinner. Rarely i ate with my mom. When i stayed with my dad we had steak with potatoes and salad every night. 

Question 6: Why do you think your perception of food is the way it is?
Jen: Food is always the focal point of a gathering. Food is a comfort that brings people together. Even if it is bad it can still be a thing that brings people together. Thats not how i was raised to see it but its the way i wanted it to be for you guys.

Jennifer Clark is my mother and she has taught me so many things about food and how it can bring people together and how it can make anyone happy.