Culinary Corner

In 2023, I was invited back to Liebfrauenschule as one of the alumni featured during the 25th anniversary celebration of the “LIZE-Koch” program (see press release). Together with other alumni, I was interviewed about how the combination of the German high school diploma (“Abitur”) and the Culinary Arts certificate shaped my subsequent professional path. It was a meaningful opportunity to reflect on a formative part of my education and to see the program continue to thrive across new generations.

In 2014, I completed the “LIZE-Koch” program together with seven fellow graduates. At our “Charity Night” graduation dinner, we were recognized for our exceptional performance in the practical journeyman’s examination administered by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Bodensee-Oberschwaben at the culinary school in Tettnang, Germany (see school newspaper article).

Alongside my work in professional kitchens, I also contributed restaurant reviews to Seezunge, a regional dining guide around Lake Constance in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This role allowed me to engage with restaurants from a different perspective—not from behind the stove, but from the table—bringing together a cook’s palate and a guest’s eye, with attention to cuisine, hospitality, and atmosphere alike. Writing these pieces required precision and careful judgment, translating flavors, textures, and impressions into prose that could inform and guide others. In this sense, the work also resonates with my identity as a researcher, where exploring culinary ideas (theoretical framing & hypothesizing), cooking (behavioral experimentation), tasting (quantitative data analysis), refining a dish (interpretation & revision), and serving it to others (academic paper writing & science communication) come together in a similarly natural way.