Katie Whittaker

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLoZ6QaDgdt/

1. How would you introduce yourself?

I’m Katie, and I would probably describe myself as someone who doesn’t like to be comfortable. I push myself to try new things — like moving to a different country, learning a new language, teaching myself new skills, and obviously eating everything. I have lived in New York and Argentina, and am now based in Athens, where I am learning every day about the restaurant industry and the passionate people who keep it together. I’ve held a LOT of different jobs in the past — real estate marketing and PR, a secretary at a hydraulic pumps manufacturing plant, a reporter at a wire service news organization, a fact checker at an art magazine, an event planner at an arts nonprofit, an art museum assistant — but what has held my attention the most, and what never feels static, is food. I was an editor at a food magazine, and now I freelance, doing work for chefs and restaurants in Athens but also writing and taking photos and videos of what I find interesting in my new city.

2. What attracts you to the hospitality industry?

In Greece, it appears to me that hospitality is much more than a job. It’s something that people truly live, and they believe it’s important in their personal AND professional lives, which is very cool to me. It’s also an industry that is growing and evolving, with lots of people bringing fresh ideas and perspectives to the table (ha), while also keeping in mind and respecting the country’s own rich culinary history and tradition. So, it’s interesting for me as an outsider to watch restaurants here grow — or sometimes resist growing — into a new role, and how people support each other, especially in these days.

3. How would you like to contribute with your work to the hospitality community?

I want to tell other peoples’ stories. Especially women. I work with a lot of women who are KICK ASS. I’m not just saying that. They hold things down in the restaurant, they work incredibly hard, and even when they’re tired or annoyed they’re unfailingly professional, polite, and pursuing perfection. I admire them a lot, and I want a community for these women — and the dudes who support them — to come together and support each other.

I also want to show everyone that, more broadly, restaurants in Greece can help each other. Yes, it’s competitive, and of course you guard your secrets, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of the wider community’s success.

4. Which part(s) of your personality shines through your work?

I am always looking for the not-perfect food photo, or the chefs with the wildest ideas, or the bars with the least lights and loudest music, and I would say this shines through in the types of stories I tend to tell. I also believe in lifting others up and giving them as many chances to succeed as possible, so when I am working, it is the most important thing to share and promote other people’s work as much as you can.

5. Which flavour transports you?

When I was growing up, I would go to my grandma’s house in West Virginia, and she would make us spaghetti and meatballs, and after dinner we’d have chocolate milkshakes. I always, always think about my grandma, my mom, and West Virginia — the sound of the fluorescent light buzzing, the smell of dew on the grass outside (it’s always summer there, in my mind), the brightly painted walls, and this feeling of home.