Nancy Gershman, Food Philosopher

Nancy’s food career turned serious the day she became Editor in Chief of Sargento Foods’ online lifestyle magazine, The Sargento Difference (1997-2000, while Senior Copywriter at the interactive agency, AGENCY.COM). The three-part format with original recipes and real-time polls kept Sargento’s audience fed and happy: In Minutes for harried double income households; In Shape for the health-conscious, and In Essence for connoisseurs.

Nancy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Design from Hampshire College, and has worked for over two decades as a copywriter in print and interactive media. Blessed with a writer’s ear, a critic’s palate and a cabaret voice, Nancy’s field interviews are legendary. These days, she coaxes secrets from chefs of every ilk for her latest project with partner, Marlene Samuels: compiling and adapting expendable edible recipes from premier chefs for the novice.

In 2002, she coined the term expendable edibles for a class of food long celebrated by chefs and culinary schools. In September 2003, she published the article, “Waste-Not Cooking” with Marlene in ReadyMade magazine. In January 2004, HG-TV taped her in a segment on “Stems, Skins and Stalks” for their Smart Solutions show, January 2005. This April, the Chicago Tribune's Good Eating section featured Nancy and Marlene’s article on gourmet treatments of expendable edibles, "Wait! Don't Toss It Out!"

Nancy lives in Chicago with her husband and lives by the motto: “Less time in the kitchen; more around the table.”  

Marlene Samuels, Food Expert

Marlene excels at technique, presentation, and menu planning in the classical French style. A graduate of the accelerated program at the Escoffier Cooking School in Paris, Marlene continues her culinary education, taking intensive courses with a diverse group of Chicago-area chefs. She has conducted informal cooking classes, with an emphasis on gourmet pastas, soups, and sauces as well as the preparation of quick, unforgettable meals in 30 minutes or less.

Marlene holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Abnormal Clinical Psychology as well as a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in the Social Sciences, from the University of Chicago. She is co-author of "The Seamstress," a World War II memoir (Penguin Putnam Berkley, 1997) currently optioned for a feature length film.

Alongside such notables as Frank McCourt, David Halberstam and Annie LaMott, Marlene has presented at the Sun Valley Writers Conference on the topic, “The Search for Identity.” She has participated in the University of Iowa Summer workshops (2002-4) and is currently - with partner Nancy Gershman – spreading the word about "gourmet treatments for the un-spoiled.”

Marlene lives in Chicago with her husband and Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Harry and Bill. Her credo? "See what it could be; not what it is."