About Me

 

I'm Eric Burkett, a San Francisco-based professional cook and food writer. in addition to cooking for one of San Francisco's top catering companies, I've owned my own catering company, cooked for private clients, and organized some pretty exciting pop-ups. A million years ago, I was even the manager of the hottest -- and only -- cafe/night club in McMurdo, Antarctica: the late, great Ozone Hole.

I began writing about food as a reporter in Alaska, at the Anchorage Daily News back in the 1990s. I started out covering religion -- a beat I loved -- but began writing additional articles for the paper's food section. Besides churning out the occasional recipe, I wrote an occasional series about role of traditional dishes in helping the city's varied immigrant communities maintain their sense of identity, as well as other culinary pieces.

Eventually, I ended up in San Francisco and, looking to further my food writing experience, I enrolled in culinary school at City College of San Francisco (A great institution and one I'd recommend for anyone looking for a culinary career). While I had been hoping to beef up my culinary chops for a career in food writing I, instead, found myself drawn into catering, a career move that has sustained me for almost 20 years. 

Throughout that, however, I continued reporting, going on to write for Delish, Food Safety News, SF Weekly, and other publications, as well as copy writing for a Midwestern ad firm (You know those magazines that supermarkets publish but that no one ever reads? A lot of my copy ended up there). There was even a string of attempts at various blogs, mostly, but not entirely, about food.

As a general reporter I have covered everything from government, religion, education, planning and development, and federal courts to LGBTQ issues, cannabis legalization, as well as food policy and food safety. In all, I have worked for eight different newspapers over the years.

I covered Wasilla City Hall back when Sarah Palin was merely a small town mayor and well before we had any idea where that was going to go, as well as Elon Musk's 2023 securities trial over a tweet that cost his shareholders millions of dollars and ended with the billionaire walking away free of charge. I've been line-dancing with members of the Unification Church and eaten moose nose soup 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle, all to get the story. It's been a heckuva ride. 

To see some of my work, go to my clips page or here, to see a few of my recipes.