Hello everyone! Welcome to today’s Food-Friday Twitterview featuring @wphsu as today’s guest. Lets get cooking! Will: Thanks for inviting me to be part of your Food-Friday Twitterview. I’m excited to get started!
Q – #1 So @wphsu, share with everyone following today, where did you grow up and go to school?
Will: I grew up in Wausau, WI and worked the family farm as a kid. I went to undergraduate @UWMadison and later went on for my MBA.
I got my MBA a few years ago at Harvard Business School, proud to be a @UWMadison alum and @HBSAlumni
Q – #2 I see. So after schooling, what did you do and how did you end up in MN?
Will: After undergrad I started at General Mills in Mpls. They sponsored my MBA @HBSAlumni, I’ve moved around w/ the company.
I’ve been fortunate to live a lot of places, including Boston, Phoenix, Beijing, Taipei, but have loved living here.
Although I will say there is always a soft spot in my heart for Wisconsin and Madison. I still call it “home”.
Q – #3 How then did you get connected with #GenMills, and what’s your role with them?
Will: There’s a funny story about #GenMills and my start here, too long for Twitter. Suffice it to say, friends working here.
Recruited out of @UWMadison School of Business for #GenMills Finance Leadership Development Program. Still in finance.
I’m currently Sr Finance Manager, Global Financial Systems – Controller’s Dept. A long way of saying, I manage teams.
Our teams are responsible for internal and external financial reporting systems that are used by the company. Exciting.
Q – #4 Lets now move to your blogging activities. How does someone interested in Finance get into food blogging?
Will: Great question. I started blogging in 2004 before I went to @HBSAlumni and gained a following as a b-school blogger.
After MBA I blogged about work & life, got back into it during wedding planning two years ago with my now wife Jenny.
We had a lot of family internationally that couldn’t attend the wedding, so we used blogging to share things with them.
After the wedding and honeymoon glow subsided, Jenny and I started blogging about cooking at home and dining in the TC.
It’s been crazy to see the growth in social media and blogging, but I’ve also found it to be a wonderful community.
Jenny and I love food and we enjoy sharing it w/ others. So blogging about cooking & dining was just a natural outlet.
Q – #5 Interesting! So your blog has evolved as your life has. What are some recent places that you’ve commented on?
Will: Yes, I’m sure someday we’ll be the parents blogging about our kids. Recently we’ve been to some of our local favorites.
Some of our recent faves include @HeidisMpls, Restaurant Alma, and Cafe Levain. @AdamVickerman is always cooking.
We try to eat out 2-3x and cook 4-5x a week. Food is always on our minds. For more info blog link: bit.ly/tchaochi
Hardest part about blogging now is that we eat out and cook so often, that are free time is consumed by food. Ironic.
I’m fortunate to work for a great food company that still gives me enough time to pursue other passions in life too.
Q – #6 So you are more of a local restaurant goer as opposed to chain restaurants?
Will: That’s a softball question! I’m a local convert. Local restaurants, local produce, and more recently local meat.
I’ll eat at local restaurants when I travel, growing up in a rural farming community as a kid, everything is local.
We have so many wonderful restaurants and talented chefs here in the TC, why wouldn’t you eat local? That’s the ? I ask
2 individuals particularly shaped how Jenny and I eat now, Brenda Langton @spoonriver1 & @ScottPampuch @CTKitchentable
I’ve also been influenced & supported by a great group of other "local" #MNFoodBloggers who support the local movement.
Interactions w/ amazing local restaurants, chefs, bloggers and farmers have made us realize how interconnected we are.
Q – #7 More about YOU: Favorite(s) Restaurant, comfort food, vegetable, spice or herb, city to eat in.
Will: Soapbox off. Favorite local restaurant all-time: Restaurant Alma. @HeidisMpls wasn’t here when I moved to Mpls in 2000.
Fave food: Big steaming bowl of ramen. My wife will laugh when she reads this. She says I can eat noodle soup everyday.
I’m assuming potatoes don’t count as a vegetable. I consider them a starch, where’s that outdated USDA food pyramid.
Favorite spice: Anything red, smoked paprika, chipotle, cayenne, red curry, etc. Hot and spicy is how I like them
Fave eating city: formerly Taipei, but it’s been too long so I don’t know it as well anymore. Recently Penang, Malaysia
Q – #8 To end with, if you could share a meal with any 1 person dead/alive, who would you choose and why?
Will: I guess I’d have to say I’d like to share a meal with the future POTUS after the next election.
I chose the next President because I don’t think Americans will change eating habits until govt regulations change.
Until then, i’ll just keep doing my own local thing and tweeting with #MNFoodBloggers like you. Keep up the good work.
@JoelECarlson: Okay. Well thank you @wphsu for your time, comments and prize contribution today. Have a great weekend and enjoy your dinning!
Will: Thank you for inviting me and having me on #jectv. Look forward to more great conversations with you and others in the future.