Meet the Foodies: Corinne and Jewelle, BTFO Food Coordinators

Throughout the week of BTFO most lunches and dinners will be provided for incoming students. As you may imagine, organizing food for a large group with diverse allergies and dietary restrictions could be logistically intimidating. Luckily for us, we have two of the most level-headed and generously-spirited young women at YDS coordinating all of these meals for us. Today we'd like you to meet Corinne Ellis and Jewelle Bickel, who will quickly become some of your favorite faces on campus, and not only because they're the ones with all the tasty treats.

Q: Who are you? What are you studying and how do you spend your free time?

Corinne: My name is Corinne and I'm a second-year MDiv from Chicago. I'mordination-track in the UCC and am trying to soak up all of what YDS has to offer, course-wise and otherwise. Outside of school I like to run (just finished my first half-marathon!), play around in the sunshine (living in Seattle this summer has been a little sunshine-challenged), and most importantly, cook and eat great food!
Jewelle: My name is Jewelle. I am a second year MAR concentrating in Philosophical Theology.  I am from Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I love cooking, eating, playing soccer, and hanging out with all the wonderful people at YDS.

Q: This is a big job. Why did you want to coordinate food for BTFO?

C: My favorite part of YDS is sharing meals in community and what a transcendent experience that can be. Putting it simply, I like feeding people! Also, New Haven has some of the most badass food options around and we can't wait to introduce you to the delectable variety.
J:  I have certain dietary restrictions and last year was super impressed by how well BTFO made me feel welcomed by catering to my needs (literally.)  Because of that, I want to make sure that everyone feels the same welcome this year.

Q: What kinds of deliciousness can we look forward to during the week?

C: A veritable culinary journey: you'll experience New Haven's Italian community through world-famous pizza, travel to South Asia with some delectable Indian treats...okay, I'm getting a little carried away, but there's going to be a ton of different types of food, and it will be awesome.
J: New Haven has incredible food. Really.  Corinne and I want to introduce you to the fabulous variety of food available in New Haven.

Q: Can you hint at or maybe elaborate on some of the more specialized meals, like faculty dinner, carts, pizza taste test, cook-out, etc.?

C: We can't reveal too much, gotta leave some fun surprises! The meal I'm most excited about for you all is the food cart experience. It'll be a great introduction to very affordable food that's close enough to campus to run over for lunch, with an enormous selection of cuisines to choose from.
J: There are several exciting meals that you will have throughout the week. One meal that I think will be really great involves the faculty hosting students at their house. It just shows what wonderful people we have a YDS!

Q: "I have crazy dietary restrictions! Am I going to starve to death?!"

C: No way! I'll let Jewelle talk a bit more about this because she's the expert, having gone through it last year, but never fear: we are able to accommodate any need. We're here to feed ALL of you this week!
J: BTFO is about welcoming you to the YDS community.  One thing we take seriously at YDS is food.  NO matter what your dietary restriction is (gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, vegetarian or anything else) Corinne and I will work hard to make sure you are fed throughout the week. Just make sure to list your dietary needs on your registration form.  If there is anything you need to add later, please get in contact with us.  Also, during the week of BTFO if you find for some reason that the food we have does not accommodate your needs, please come speak to Corinne or myself.

Hm, I wonder if Corinne is putting fish on
the menu?

Q: "My whole family is coming to New Haven - are they able to join me for meals on campus?"

C: We are happy to feed your family as well! When you register for BTFO, make sure to indicate any family members who may be joining you. And if you already registered and forgot to include these extra folks, just shoot us an email and we'll be happy to accommodate. The only meal family can't tag along for is the faculty dinner, but we will have a separate meal for them on campus where they'll get a chance to mingle with other YDS families, so they won't miss out on the fun.

Q: We have already covered sustainability at YDS, but can you guys touch on some of the sustainability practices in play for this year's BTFO?

C: We have fantastic folks here at the div school who invested their own time to come up with a ranking of restaurants based on their sustainability practices, including using compostable or recyclable serving dishes and utensils, sourcing their food locally and sustainably, and taking steps to reduce landfill waste. We did our best to cater from restaurants that value sustainability because we do too!
J: In addition to our food choices, we are asking you to help participate and make YDS a more sustainable community.  The biggest help you can bring during the week of BTFO is to bring dishes and silverware from your house to use throughout the week. We will take time after each meal to wash the dishes together as a community.  The dishes don't have to be anything fancy and there will be great benefits for those who remember their dishes.

Q: What is your favorite place in New Haven?

I hope we can look forward to some refreshing desserts, too!

C: The top of East Rock during an early morning run. Always astounding to me how serene such a bustling city can feel.
J: I like sitting in the grass behind the divinity school next to the div farm. There is a great view of East Rock and it's a nice little oasis close to school.

Q: When you get pizza in New Haven, where do you go and what do you order?

C: It's gotta be Modern, and I get a red pie with eggplant and spinach.
J: I go for a veggie pizza from Modern with no cheese.

Q: And the most important question, what is your favorite thing about Esther and Patrick?

C: Esther doesn't think I'm nuts for wearing my 15-year-old brother's flannel shirts. Patrick doesn't think I'm nuts for spending all of my disposable income on concerts and fancy food. What's not to love about that?J: My favorite things about Esther and Patrick is their wonderful sense of humor, their continual patience with my millions of questions and their fantastic tastes in food.