Meet PennAppétit.com
New year, new Penn Appétit. We’re excited to introduce the Spring 2020 digital team.
Shaila Lothe
Digital Director
Year: Sophomore
Concentration: Behavioral Economics
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
What’s your favorite food and why?
Peanut butter. I don’t know when my obsession started. Maybe it’s because of all the Uncrustables I ate as a kid. Regardless, peanut butter is versatile, delicious, and nutritious.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
I love all breakfast food, so when I learned that a waffle shop opened up in my hometown, I was ecstatic. Covered in peanut butter, banana, and chocolate, the waffle that I ate there is burned into my memory forever.
What are you looking forward to doing in Penn Appétit this semester?
I can’t wait to bring more listicles to the table. I love lists!
Emily Liu
Digital Deputy Director
Year: Sophomore
Major: English
Hometown: San Francisco Bay Area
What’s your favorite food and why?
Dim Sum! My family’s from around the Hong Kong area so that’s what I grew up on. Plus lots of variety, lots of flavors — it never gets old! My personal favorite is the Portuguese tart (pastel de nata) because it’s like a egg tart and creme brûlée combined.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
There’s this tapas bar near the UC Berkeley campus that I’m obsessed with. My friends and I got squid ink paella, boar meatballs, scallops and other little tapas. The flavors really stood out, the service was phenomenal and the dessert was a great finish!
What are you looking forward to doing in Penn Appétit this semester?
I’m super excited to try new recipes, write about food or restaurants and just explore the different sides of cuisines. I love food and I love to talk about it, so I’m excited to do what I love for fun :).
Janet Lee
Digital Deputy Director
Year: Sophomore
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Seoul, Korea
What’s your favorite food and why?
Korean cuisine is easily my favorite of them all, including all types of stews and meat dishes to street food galore. Though it may not be the most aesthetically pleasing, all Korean dishes are an explosion of flavor, whether that be spicy, smokey, or sweet.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
Though I’ve experienced home-cooked meals for the last 20 years, my first meal back after the first semester of college easy takes the spot as the best meal I’ve ever had. The spread of Korean dishes, with their unique combination of flavors and textures, prepared with motherly love doesn’t compare with anything you could have elsewhere, even at a five star Michelin restaurant.
What are you looking forward to doing in Penn Appétit this semester?
I am looking forward to creating fun, interesting, and refreshing content about arguably the most interesting topic of all: food! From testing out interesting kitchen appliances and food combinations to writing restaurant reviews and recipes, I’m excited to see where (literally and figuratively) food will take me this semester.
Michelle Kwon
Digital Deputy Director
Year: Sophomore
Major: Bioengineering
Hometown: Harrington Park, New Jersey
What’s your favorite food and why?
Ice cream and Cookies!! You just can’t go wrong!
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
When I got home after my first semester here at Penn, my mom made my favorite dishes and it was by far the most memorable meal I’ve had.
What are you looking forward to doing in Penn Appétit this semester?
I’m excited to harness my creative energy through Penn Appétit and find the motivation to explore the wide and fantastic range of food off-campus!
Sophie Meinen
Digital Deputy Director
Year: Freshman
Major: History
Hometown: Chappaqua, New York
What’s your favorite food and why?
My favorite food is kale salad with olive oil dressing, goat cheese, pine nuts and currants. It’s a timeless classic for me, the flavors are so simple yet perfectly balance each other. It’s also a meal I love eating and I know is healthy.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
The best meal I ever had was a dinner in Italy, where the first dish was mushroom ravioli with brown butter sauce, the main was veal and desert was raspberry panna cotta. This was probably six years ago now, but I’ve never eaten such a perfect trio of dishes since.
What are you looking forward to doing in Penn Appétit this semester?
I’m looking forward to creating fun pieces, working as a deputy editor and getting to know everyone better!
Julia Lammers
Year: Freshman
Major: International Relations
Hometown: Alpharetta, Georgia
What’s your favorite food and why?
Salmon Sushi! I’m half Japanese and one of my best friends’ dad owned a sushi restaurant in Atlanta. He would often make us a giant party plate of the best salmon nigiri!
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
Lemon cream fettuccine and gelato for dessert in Italy!
What are you looking forward to doing in Penn Appétit this semester?
Meeting other foodies.
Sam Kesler
Year: Senior
Major: English
Hometown: Flagstaff, Arizona
What’s your favorite food and why?
Cheeseburgers.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
My mom’s chicken enchiladas.
What are you looking forward to doing in Penn Appétit this semester?
Eating!
Shreya Subramanian
Year: Junior
Concentrations: Finance and Management
Hometown: Troy, Michigan
What’s your favorite food and why?
Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups! Since I was a little kid, I’ve always loved Reese’s and somehow… these TJ’s dark chocolate versions are, dare I say it, better.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
I fell in love with soondubu, Korean silken tofu soup, last summer!
What are you looking forward to doing in Penn Appétit this semester?
I’m so excited to continue my Trader Joe’s/other groceries posts. I’m also looking forward to delving into recipe posts (some are already on the way!) because I only really started getting into developing/trying new recipes recently.
Yasmine Mezoury
Digital Deputy Director
Year: Freshman
Majors: Cinema & Media Studies and Psychology
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
What’s your favorite food and why?
One of my favorite dishes is saag paneer. I used to be a very picky eater and saag paneer was one of the first foods I tried that was vastly out of my comfort zone. Through that experience, I have become so much more open to new foods from different cultures. I also love the flavor combination of spinach and cheese, so this dish has a special place in my heart.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
I spend every other summer visiting extended family in Morocco. Each Friday, Moroccans across the country eat couscous with seven vegetables on Fridays to commemorate the holy day. Sitting down with my family for a meal and eating my aunt’s vegetarian couscous is always one of the things I look forward to most when I visit.
What are you looking forward to doing in Penn Appétit this semester?
I am excited to learn more from the people who prepare food on campus and learn about their backgrounds and experiences. I would also like to spend this semester writing articles to help people explore new food options. This could range from adventuring out of my own comfort zone with food, to testing out new food trends.
Jasper Huang
Year: Sophomore
Major: Computer Science
Hometown: San Jose, California
What’s your favorite food and why?
Stinky tofu. Imagine the foulest smell you can think of. Perhaps the sewers of New York City. Or week-old spoiled milk mixed with vinegar. Your college roommate even. Now infuse those flavors into some fine silken soft tofu. The result is one of the best-worst-tasting repulsive street food delicacies in the world. I think that’s beautiful.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
A high-end all-vegetarian buffet on the 13th floor of the Mingyao department store in Taipei. Absolutely amazing array of Eastern and Western dishes, delicate desserts, and torched grapefruit. Clean bathrooms too.
What are you looking forward to doing in Penn Appétit this semester?
Writing and learning about the future of food and sustainability!