2010 Dual Major in EcoGastronomy Alumna: Ashli Franck, Slightly North of Broad, Charleston, SC

 Using her degree in Nutritional Sciences and the EcoG Dual Major, Ashli completed her EcoGastronomy capstone project on the benefits and challenges of creating a program that would link farm resources to food assistance agencies.  Dr. Joanne Burke and Helen E. Costello, program manager at the New Hampshire Food Bank, advised Ashli during her research. Feedback from farmers for how to make the links work included Community Supported Agriculture  (CSA) shares, surplus sharing, pick your own, and contracted plots.   Ashli concludes, the most successful program will allow farmers to choose how they want to participate.

Juliet Bluemling graduated from UNH in May 2009 with a degree in Hospitality Management and a Dual Major in EcoGastronomy. While at UNH, Juliet also served as an intern for the Local Harvest Initiative and the Dual Major in EcoGastronomy, and was an intern in the UNH Sustainability Internship Program (SIP). In mid-August we visited with Juliet at the Edwards’ Harborside Inn in York Harbor, Maine where she is the Assistant Innkeeper, to learn about how her education at UNH helped to prepare her for her new role. Juliet shared with us her insights on the daily life of an Assistant Innkeeper and efforts she has made to incorporate principles of EcoGastronomy into her position.

A typical day for Juliet starts at 6:30 a.m. when she begins preparing breakfast for guests. She likes to offer a variety of choices, including an egg dish, fresh baked goods, and fruit. After breakfast is served, she generally begins cleaning rooms, doing laundry, and other tasks around the inn – responding to phone and walk-in inquiries, making reservations, picking up the mail, grocery shopping, and even mowing the lawn! In the evening she heads to her apartment at the inn, which has a great view of the harbor and ocean breezes through the windows. She's tired at the end of the day, but she really enjoys interacting with the guests and finding new ways to improve their experience at the Inn.

With the principles of EcoGastronomy in mind, one of the first things Juliet did when she began working at the Inn was to plant a vegetable garden. She has planted a small garden with tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, herbs, and more to use in the egg dishes she prepares for breakfast. There are also raspberry bushes on site, which she's been using to make things like raspberry coffee cake. The Inn also embodies other tenants of EcoGastronomy: It’s a small, family- owned and operated business that values personal relationships. "One of the most important aspects of this job as innkeeper is the relationship I build with each guest," says Juliet. "When guests depart after exchanging hugs and promises of return, it makes all of this hard work so meaningful and worthwhile." Thanks to this kind of approach, many guests return year after year.

As for Juliet, her plan is to stay at the Inn for at least another year. During the off-season, she looks forward to putting together some interesting new packages to offer guests, and find new ways to incorporate sustainability. The Inn is already changing to energy efficient light bulbs, requesting that guests reuse towels and linens when possible, and, now, growing some of its own food. But there may be more that can be done, and Juliet is looking forward to exploring the possibilities.