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about

Hello! I'm Jenny. I'm a professional chef, author, and speaker based in New York City. I am currently a Fulbright-National Geographic Research Fellow pursuing research in Singapore and a recent M.Ed of Harvard's Graduate School of Education.

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As a chef, I use food to express the full range of human emotions and social commentary about the world around us. I believe food has a unique way of exposing the origins of social norms we choose to be bound by. Often, the food and the environments I create make people uncomfortable, and that's the point. I don't plan on being complicit with how things are; I want to change the world with my art, one honest conversation at a time.

photo by Matt Kalinowski

As an educator and food politics scholar, my mission is to showcase how food, both literally and metaphorically, forms the basis of human meaning-making and identity formation. It organizes our social hierarchies, the development and enforcement of our laws, and the design of our economic systems. Food shapes who we believe we are by telling us what version of ourselves is “right,” what perspective we should take in relating to other people, and what our roles are within larger social, economic, and cultural groups.

 

Before I started my journey in food, I was addicted to social acceptance (I still am, just less so). I started my career as a very (literally) hungry management consultant in the fashion industry before becoming the youngest MBA candidate at Columbia Business School. Shockingly, resume accolades do not make us truly happy, and I found myself depressed and lost. I decided to take a sabbatical and go "find myself" -- which led me to culinary school, various fancy-schmancy-starred restaurants, and a bizarre set of jobs (ironic highlight: selling cold-pressed juice door-to-door to Silicon Valley VC firms). Through these twists and turns, I parlayed my abilities into a culinary consulting business, which I feel lucky to say has been successful and rewarding while forcing me to grow up and be a professional.

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But I wanted more. At the beginning of 2017, I had an epiphany (at acupuncture) that I should use augmented & virtual reality to make my work more impactful. My experiments with these emerging technologies have helped me narrow in on which social issues I'm passionate about, and that birthed the first iteration of Studio ATAO. The Studio is the nonprofit baby that keeps me up at night as I rack my brain for ways to keep pushing people to connect with the world around them and feel something. Where does this road lead? I'm still not sure. It's been a hell of a ride so far, but there's no saying what excitements and failures it still has in store. What I do know, however, is that I'll never wake up and wonder, "What if?".

ABOUT
Writng

bylines & appearances

Reported & Features

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Op-Eds

 

Personal Essays

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Columns

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Books (Print)

 

Video Features

FOOD

food portfolio

See complete food & styling & photography portfolio.

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If you are interested in my custom ceramics that are often paired with my food, click here.

Culinary Consulting

I've been fortunate to work with a wide range of interesting companies, from Fortune 500 brands to nonprofits to local chains. My background in finance, management consulting, and global R&D has given me a unique perspective on what makes for a successful food-based venture, and I enjoy tackling age-old problems in creative new ways. I've launched new restaurant and culinary concepts (nationally and internationally); developed recipes and wrote cookbooks; planned and executed custom events large and small; made experimental content (branded and non) for audiences from social media to editorial. I love projects where I have the freedom to take big, abstract ideas and turn them into culinary content or experiential events. If you have an interesting concept you'd like to make even more delicious, please contact me below.

client list

OpenTable

Fair Trade USA

Panda Restaurant Group

Storebound

Hill's Pet Nutrition

Harper's Bazaar

Blue Marble Dreams: Bel Rev

O2 Aspen

Food Arts Center

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San-J

Eventbrite

Ito En

June Life

BCBG Max Azria

Vox Media

Milk Money Kitchens

National Honey Board

Food Loves Tech

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Well+Good

LinkedIn

IACP

Charleston Wine + Food

Noodlelove

Everyday with Rachael Ray

Chef's Feed

Chef's Roll

Xiao Chi Jie

Cooking with Scraps

Blood Sugar Miracle

The Future of AR in Restaurants

Restaurant Managers Handbook

SPEAKING

awards & speaking engagements

2023-24 Fulbright Research Scholar & National Geographic Explorer -- Singapore

2023 James Beard Foundation Media Awards Nominee, "Home Cooking"

2022 World's 50 Next: Trailblazing Activists

2022 Food & Wine Game Changers

2022 Well+Good Change Makers

2021 "Other Notable Food Writing" mention in Best American Food Writing 2021

2020 Thrillist Local Heroes

2020 IACP Best Personal/Editorial Photograph

2019 Regional Finalist (North America), San Pellegrino Young Chefs

2019 The Art of Plating "On the Rise" Honoree

2019 James Beard House Featured Chef

2018 Finalist, Future of Storytelling "Bridging the Divide" Award

2017 Les Dames D'Escoffier Legacy Awards

2016 Winner, Beat Bobby Flay​ on Food Network

2016 James Beard Foundation Jean Louis Palladin Professional Work/Study Grant​

2015 Bocuse d'or Ment'or Continuing Education Grant

2012 Les Dames D'Escoffier New York Culinary Arts Scholarship 

I've been fortunate to share my story in front of a wide variety of audiences these last few years. In everything from keynotes and workshops to moderating panels or judging, I pride myself in being authentic and honest about all parts of my journey, even the ugly, scary, and disappointing moments. I've had the great pleasure of speaking at many companies, organizations and conferences I respect, and gave my first TEDx talk in pre-pandemic 2020 titled How Food Can Be A Source of Intimacy, Identity, and Vulnerability (watch above).​

TEDxIVC

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Future of Storytelling Summit

Culinary Institute of America

DoorDash Main Street Summit

Charleston Wine + Food Festival

Crushing the Myth

Yellow Creative Summit

NUS Baba House Museum, Singapore

FAB Charleston

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Union Square Hospitality Group

Tiffany & Co.

Thomson Reuters

Boston Consulting Group

Asia Society

Institute of Culinary Education

Museum of Food & Drink

ATTN

International Association of Culinary Professionals

If you're looking for a culinary voice for an event, please contact me below.

press

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Jenny Dorsey Chef Wall Street Journal
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Knives & Ink (Bloomsbury, 2016)

Adventures of Women Entrepreneurs (Radius, 2017)

Dark Horse (HarperOne, 2018)

CONTACT
Chef Jenny Dorsey Mussels Escabeche Culinary Consultant

work with me

Interested in working together? Download my media kit, or send me a note below!

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