Media Professional Interview: Lindsey Nair, Roanoke Times

Lindsey Nair has a lot of food on her plate. And we’re not talking portions.

A features reporter and food blogger for The Roanoke Times since February 2007, she’s responsible for experimenting, researching and communicating all things food to the Southwest Virginia area.

Prior to becoming the local food guru, Nair worked as a police and court reporter, another one of her passions.

Nair, in a recent phone interview with Planet Blacksburg, shared some of her cooking influences, professional experiences and ideas about the future of the food industry.

Her selected answers reveal that her professional plate is indeed full of food, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Q: To start things off, I’ve never really thought about a journalistic approach to food. I’m curious to know what a typical workday is like for you.
Nair: Blog readers, if they stop seeing something for a few days, might lose interest. So I blog every morning, keep that entry up, about anything from cooking experiments in my kitchen to little things like the cookbook giveaways I’m doing now. After that, depending on the day, my first priority is my food column, which comes out once a week. That runs on Wednesday and it’s due by the previous Wednesday, so depending on the day of the week and how close I’m getting to my deadline, I’m working on that. After I finish that, for the week, then I kind of spend some time on some other projects that I might have going on. Like right now, I have a long-term story project about local food producers, so I might put in a little time with that. Or, spend some time on a more short-term story that I’ve got going. So, after the morning when I’ve blogged, I divide my time up by what’s on my list for that day.

Q: I’ve noticed throughout your blogs and columns, you always offer a lot of tips and tricks about cooking to your readers. Does that come from your personal experience or did you attend culinary school?
Nair: I did not go to culinary school and sometimes that feels like a weakness to me. But most of the time it feels like a strength because I think that most of the people who read my column and my blog are not professional chefs and did not go to culinary school. They probably are just like me; cooking is something they enjoy and maybe picked up from their family members. They are probably experimenting as much as I am. I feel like if I admit that I’ve made mistakes and really screwed up dishes in my own kitchen, it’ll make me seem more human. So when I’m offering advice, usually it’s coming from some research, through books or on the Internet, that I’ve done. Sometimes, I’ll offer advice based on my own experiences because I probably know a little bit more about cooking than your average person. I actually really like for there to be an environment of mutual sharing on my blog…sort of a community place where we can all offer each other advice.

Q: So did you experiment a lot with cooking as a child?
Nair: I got my love of cooking from my family…most of our social occasions revolved quite a bit around food. I came from a very Southern family and spent a lot of time with my paternal grandmother, who was a wonderful Southern cook. That’s where I picked up the love of using lots of vegetables straight from the garden, venison, biscuits and cabbage- all those great Southern dishes. My mom had some professional experience in kitchens…she was the kind of mom who always had a hot meal on the table for us. When I was older, a teenager, my dad developed a love of cooking himself, but he was more focused on gourmet cooking…I was more interested in cooking then, so I would just try to absorb a lot of information from him.

Q: Speaking of Southern cooking, I saw that you had a chance to interview Paula Dean and I’m a huge fan of her show [“Paula’s Home Cooking” on the Food Network]. How was that experience?
Nair: Yeah, that was an interesting experience. She’s quite a character…she’s quite a friendly lady. She really does talk in person the way she does on her shows and some things came out of her mouth that you would never imagine her to say. I really enjoyed talking to Paula…she’s really down to earth.

Q: Do you ever watch the Food Network to get ideas for your columns?
Nair: I do watch it, but I’m not one of those people who watches shows on a regular basis. I’ll kind of turn it [Food Network] on to see what’s on, but if there’s something else I really want to watch, I’ll turn that on…I don’t really get into the cake shows or “Iron Chef” even. I have certain shows I really enjoy, like Paula’s show. Or, I like to watch Rachel Ray, her “Tasty Travels”, because it combines travel and food. So I’m not really a Food Network junkie. I’d much rather watch some sort of crime show.

Q: Yeah, I saw that you covered the police and crime beat for The Roanoke Times before becoming a features reporter/food blogger.
Nair: Yeah I was and it was quite a shift. As a journalist, I was instantly drawn to the police stories when I started working for The Roanoke Times; I was listening to the scanner before it was even required. When I was growing up, I always read crime novels and I’ve always been interested in legal issues. That was kind of my first passion as a journalist; I did that for five years and learned a heck of a lot. I just had gotten to the point where I was ready to write more creatively and be able to do a little more with features and enterprise and narrative kind of writing. Food, again, has always been another one of my great interests, so it just seemed like a logical switch for me.

Q: There must be some big differences between covering crime and covering food. In crime, something changes every day and there’s always something going on. Do you find that the food industry is like that?
Nair: If you think about it, how often do you see a restaurant open and then close not too long afterwards in this area? I mean, anywhere you go the restaurant business is an incredibly difficult business. It’s not just physically draining but it also requires a lot of emotional investment. I think that’s one of things that fascinates me the most about this business; as much as I love food and I love to cook, there’s no way in hell I would ever open a restaurant. It’s one of the hardest ways to make a living. People are finicky and they may or may not like what you’re doing; it’s so difficult. So, the turnover in the restaurant scene keeps this beat pretty interesting. Also, the fact that this is one of those beats where you seem to have a bottomless pit of stories you could do. Every time you turn around, there’s something different you can write about…with the food beat, I get to study something I was already interested in and I get to choose what it is I’m going to research next.

Q: I read your latest column about restaurants in our area going green. Do you think more restaurants are going to make that shift in the next few years?
Nair: It’ll be interesting to see whether everybody else jumps on the bandwagon beyond the two mentioned in the column…I mean, I think we’re pretty far from most people actually using that as a criteria for choosing a restaurant, but I do think there are people out there who make it [going green] important to them. It’s great for them to have a directory of restaurants that are doing it. Personally, I feel it would be really nice if restaurants would at least make as much as an effort as they can to recycle…I think green overall, not just talking about restaurants, but green business overall is a growing trend.

Q: Are there any other significant issues or trends cropping up in the food industry?
Nair: I would say that right now the biggest trend in the industry has to do with local food…it’s not just a food issue; it’s also a political issue and it’s just snowballing….now all the sudden it’s just an explosion…it’s great for the farmer because, in America, farming has become harder and harder over the years. It’s nice to see local farmers with a lot of demand for their products. That’s probably the number one trend right now that I’m keeping an eye on. It fascinates the heck out of me and I’m working on a big project about it.

Q: Does it [local foods] get a lot of reader response?
Nair: It gets an average amount of reader response. I think anytime you have a trend, like the local food thing, I think that when people start to hear a lot about it, sometimes it makes their eyes glaze over. Somebody who’s not prepared to make that kind of a change in their home or in their kitchen is obviously going to be less likely to be interested in reading those stories. But there are a lot of folks out there who see the value in knowing where their food comes from and what has happened to it…I think more and more people are interested in it all the time.

Q: Do you try to incorporate local foods into your recipes?
Nair: Yeah, but I do it more in the summertime because it’s pretty hard in the wintertime to get the local vegetables and things…this past Thanksgiving, I bought a turkey from a local farmer who had raised them and it was the best turkey I’ve ever had. However, I also understand it isn’t realistic that somebody can eat nothing but local products.

Q: Last question: For someone (i.e. me) who is interested in starting a food column or doing restaurant reviews, do you have any advice or suggestions on what I can do to prepare myself for that?
Nair: I think those are two very different things…regardless of whether you doing a review or a column, I would definitely invest in what I think is my favorite book ever. It’s called Food Lover’s Companion. Essentially, it’s a dictionary of food terms and it’s incredibly comprehensive. Just read it for fun if you’re that much of a food geek. Also, I always think if you want to write well, you need to read well. Visit other food writing sites…keep your eye on food blogs…see what they’re up to. If you’re going to write reviews, I think what you do is just be transparent about how much restaurant reviewing experience you have. Everybody is looking for the same things, whether you’re a professional reviewer or not. You’re looking for good service and consistent food…if you make the reviews somewhat casual it might be better. Just be someone who loves food and loves being out.