Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Hesse.
Maria, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Professionally, my creative interests have always been broad, manifesting early on with a passion to become a journalist. That fizzled my first year of community college followed by a brief interest in architecture, which eventually led to a degree in interior design. While I was studying design, I became interested in the concept of sustainability and, more specifically, how that relates to our food choices.
I had worked my way through college in the restaurant industry and after graduating in the midst of the recession in 2009—found myself stuck in a restaurant management job with a globally franchised brand. It was a low point that inspired me to reflect on the drastic differences of both experiences—designing a more sustainable residential kitchen vs. working with excessive and overly-commercialized food-like products. I merged these concepts in a way that allowed me to work as a lifestyle designer and started providing a range of services to clients. I ran errands as a personal assistant, did some minor design consultations, and found a lot of work as a personal chef.
Cooking gave me a platform to share my ideas about eating healthier and making more sustainable food choices, which brought me back full-circle to writing for Edible San Diego. A few articles later, I was contracted to be the associate editor and also tackled social media for a bit before becoming the managing editor of the magazine a little over a year ago.
It’s the gig-economy and I’m a creative freelancer, so I also prepare and write grant applications for local arts outreach organizations and cook for a couple clients that still love my food after many years. I’m also looking forward to my third year leading cooking demonstrations for a farm and food sensory program with the Autism Tree Project Foundation at Wild Willow Farm. And, as a volunteer, this is my sixth year serving on the Environmental Sustainability Commission for the City of La Mesa.
Personally, I live in La Mesa with my 13-year-old and our pug. I enjoy cooking, but that’s mostly for eating.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth journey. I’ve been through periods when there was too much work to months of not enough work when I thought I was going to lose everything. Being self-employed and a single parent, it’s the times when there’s not enough work that can get really scary, but I kept working and invested that extra time in my community by volunteering.
So, if there is any advice that I can share, it’s to always keep working toward a goal in the service of others. With that in mind, I’ve stayed true to myself and followed my bliss, never losing the belief that there is a reason I am here. With that affirmation, even in the direst of times, new and greater opportunities would come to me when I needed them most.
What should we know about Edible San Diego? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
If anyone wants to see me stick my foot in my mouth or catch me in a socially awkward moment, ask me what I do for a living. It’s difficult to explain that I have several jobs, multiple occupations, and am nowhere near being an example of financial success without sounding like a basket-case with career ADD. The best analogy I can compare it to comes from a friend with similar interests who said it’s like being alone at a table full of pies: There are many flavors and I like them all, so I keep a finger in each one. I’m grateful to contribute to a variety of amazing projects through grant writing and I have an overabundance of work maintaining other creative interests, but I guess I’m best known from my main gig—which is one that I’m most proud of—with Edible San Diego.
I make magazines, but it’s more than that. This opportunity has introduced me to the most generous people, cherished experiences and connections—and the food is exceptional.
Not to gush too much, but we’re a very lean, clean, and talented media company, so our team members wear many hats. It’s a passion project for most of us, meaning I get to work with people equally dedicated to the cause. We conceptualize our editorial agendas together, work with independent writers to produce content, and oversee layout and design.
Of course, my favorite days are production days when we prepare, style, and photograph recipe features and cover art. Doing this internally was a big transition that we made happen last summer for the September 2018 issue. It allowed us to showcase locally sourced proteins with simple and healthy recipes developed by students from Bastyr University’s nutrition program that worked in the real world. It was far removed from the high-brow and complicated recipes that were often published in the past, and so rewarding because readers were actually trying the recipes and writing in to thank us.
Cover concepts are becoming the most fun to develop and I have been known to squeal and geek out seeing them come to life as the kumquat ricotta toast did on our Winter 2019 cover. But it’s also exciting when we get to work with local businesses like Collins and Coupe, who styled barware and shared their space for the beverage spread in our November issue. Chef Craig Jimenez also helped style the food in that issue, and working with Keith Lord for our Spring 2019 issue was like a dream.
I also get to write a broad range of the in-house editorial for the magazine and I contribute to a couple of ongoing columns exclusively for ediblesandiego.com. Working on Wellness with Olivia Hayo is one of them that we recently launched where we really hope to promote the concept of wellness as accessible to a broader and more diverse audience. We just started a digital detox campaign today and I’m totally breaking my own screen time rules to work overtime tonight and get this interview done. I also write $40 at the Farmers’ Market where I take $40 to a local farmers’ market and tell readers about what I bought, which can be anything from fresh fruit and vegetables to dog beer, or two bags full of papusas.
The actual editing part of the job is very intensive, sometimes unpleasant and grueling, and the amount of work that goes into each issue is dizzying—but rewarding in a completely indescribable way. The back and forth over so much material, the pondering over every word, phrase, reference, and image forces me to accept that my role as an editor and writer is bigger than me. Once the agony of production is over, we have a magazine rich with content that carries compelling messages across print and digital platforms.
Someone recently asked what motivates me, and I have to say it comes from a selfish place. I don’t do this because I have to, and sometimes I don’t want to, but it fulfills my personal need to seek the stories and answers that will promote equitable access to honest and fair food. It helps to resolve the anxiety I have about the world my son will be left to live in after I’m gone. We publish stories that are meant to promote more than local food and drink because the stories that connect us through food and culture are the ones about humanity. Existing in a time when our president vilifies the media and advertisers assume that print media is dead, what sets us apart is our ambition and perseverance to carry forward and grow this message into the mainstream.
To that end, I’d like to add—long live print media because books will still be here if the power goes out—and thanks to our dedicated Edible San Diego readers and advertisers that understand the value of supporting a robust local food economy.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
Life, in general, poses challenges to both men and women. That said, there has been no better time in history to be a woman and any woman is particularly well positioned for the opportunity she dares to work toward.
Pricing:
- Issues of Edible San Diego are free to pick up at any of our distribution locations
- Subscriptions are available for $36
- Advertising rates may vary
Contact Info:
- Website: ediblesandiego.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariafromediblesd/
Image Credit:
Personal photo credit: Erin Schuur, ESD cover image: Olivia Hayo
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