"I was intrigued by the GCI because they set out not just to build a new culinary school, but to create a new way to learn about food.”

Mitchell Davis is a prolific writer, podcaster, speaker, and the author of several critically acclaimed cookbooks (Kitchen Sense, The Mensch Chef). We are honored to have Mitchell as a part of our team! Here’s a short interview so you can get to know him too.

You’ve been involved with the GCI since the GCI’s Culinary Education summit in 2020 and are now the host of GCI’s new ‘What’s Burning’ podcast What is it about GCI's vision that inspired you to get involved? 

I’m inspired by anyone trying to challenge the status quo, especially when it comes to food. I think we tend to become lazy about food, thinking that we like what we like or know what we know and are done. But there is so much to learn about food, so many ways to recalibrate what we know, and so many different ways to learn. I was intrigued by the GCI because they set out not just to build a new culinary school, but to create a new way to learn about food. The fact that it is in a rural part of Israel, surrounded by producers, was also compelling because it affords another way to reimagine culinary education. If this were in France, it would have a particular resonance that would make it difficult to challenge the status quo. I think of it as a culinary experiment that I’m excited to be a part of.  

Before we discuss the podcast, during the GCI's 2020 summit, you mentioned the value of infusing a culinary education with "working, cooking, and speaking with intention” as well as learning to ask “why” more often. Could you elaborate on what you meant by that?  

Sure. I think we often just do things without thinking about them first, without asking ourselves what we want to achieve, questioning our motives, understanding our intentions. Food is no different, and in fact, because it is so mundane, everyone eats three times a day (sometimes four or five!), we are even more likely to take it for granted. We are focused more on our personal tastes than the implications of eating and cooking. On the individual level, if we choose to be conscientious consumers, in addition to taste, we can choose to think about our own health, how our choices have an impact on the environment, on local communities, and local economies. On the professional level, I think we have an obligation to consider these things. We have a responsibility to make choices that reflect our values, that show care and consideration for the people we are feeding, the businesses we are supporting, the team members we are cultivating, the systems of power we are reinforcing, the planet we inhabit. I’m not saying that everything we cook and eat has to be burdened with the weight of all the world’s problems. Food is also about pleasure and celebration. It can be best when it is light, in all senses of the word.  But I think we need to be mindful of the implications of our choices and act with intention at all times. 

What can we expect from the ‘What’s Burning’ podcast?   

Listeners can expect to hear from some of the most important and innovative minds in food today about what they think the important issues are confronting anyone working in the industry, as well as those who just like to eat. We are working hard to include guests from around the world and from different aspects of the food industry—chefs, journalists, producers, teachers, academics, directors of influential organizations. While the context is largely about what people setting out into industry should know and how best to teach them, the richness of the guests' experience and their unique perspectives on all matters food-related make for really compelling conversations. Every single one of our interviews so far has run long, and I’ve learned so much.  

As an author, strategist, innovator, and now a podcast host, among other things, who would you say influenced you the most throughout your culinary career?   

I’ve been obsessed with cooking since I was young. And although I wouldn’t meet them until I had embarked on my career in food, television shows, and books by people like Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, Martin Yan, Bonnie Stern, Madhur Jaffrey, inspired me. I’ve had important mentors, professors in college, some people in the industry. But to be honest, while I love hanging out and talking food with friends and colleagues—which I can and do for hours and days on end—I often find myself most inspired by creative people in other fields who help me see things differently. I love listening to anyone who is creative and passionate about what they do, whether that’s architecture, art, writing, or even medicine or law. I think it is important to get outside your own circle. As with food, we have a tendency to keep to what we know and like. But I think we all need to expand our networks and reach beyond those who just reinforce our points of view and our tastes. At heart, I’m a problem solver who thinks it’s important to find both problems and solutions. Oftentimes people jump right to solutions without first making sure they’ve identified the right problem. I see both areas, defining problems and finding solutions, as opportunities for creativity and expansion. And I like to find people to work with who think about them in a similar way. I think of food that way, too. We are hungry. What can we eat?  

What's a fun culinary fact about you?   

Although I’m pretty skilled in the kitchen in a variety of cuisines and I can hold my own in both savory and sweet, chocolate is my nemesis. It doesn’t like me. It seizes. We both lose our temper.