It was a real treat to interview Food52 CEO and co-founder Amanda Hesser, who’s an old friend going back to my early days in the New York startup community. Listening to her tell the story of her entrepreneurial journey, you get the sense that she’s lived many lives — from studying food history alongside classmates like Corby Kummer and Sheryl Julian to apprenticing in a bakery in Germany (where she was the only woman in the kitchen) to sharpening her cooking and writing skills at a Chateau in Burgundy and ultimately landing at The New York Times, where she served as food editor of The New York Times Magazine. One common theme that emerges from all of these experiences is Amanda’s all-in approach. She follows her gut, immerses herself in the adventure and soaks up everything she can from it.

You can also see how all of those lives became part of the DNA of Food52. Although Amanda told me they’ve often felt out of sync with what’s popular or cool at the moment, the truth is, they’ve always been ahead of the trends. Since its launch in 2010 as a place for people to talk about food and share recipes, Food52 has grown to 100 employees, won a prestigious James Beard Award for Publication of the Year and launched a thriving online shop, including its own line of products. In 2019 The Chernin Group acquired a majority stake in the company for $83 million. As one of the few women in the New York startup scene back when I first met her, today Amanda is a role model for a new generation of entrepreneurs.

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