Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Jacks.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Being Latina, I come from a long line of strong women who live to make things beautiful and dramatic. Whether it be hosting in their own spaces or designing an entire wedding, from doing the dirty work and heavy lifting to directing, ive seen it all. So it’s always been in my blood and nature to gather people. When I lived in Portland OR, my talented friend, Claire Christensen, and I started a non-profit. Our focus was producing events and curating performances. To save money, I would do the food spread for our events, not thinking it would become such an attraction, more so just doing what I felt like I should do, what I grew up witnessing. To my surprise, I started getting inquiries about the food spreads, and before I knew it I had an LLC in “food catering.” I never really knew what to call it, it felt so much deep than charcuterie. I named it “Spreads” and kept it pushing. I always knew I wanted to do food in non-conventional spaces. Something about doing something so matter-of-fact and primal in a space outside of where that should be done felt exhilarating to me. I was always the person who cared about food; whatever the occasion was, it was a focal point for me. Whether it was camping or hosting a holiday. I used to make and sell empanadas out of my house in Portland on the weekends simply because all my friends loved them. Thankfully strangers started coming because you know i wasnt about to charge my community, though they were all so supportive.
My relationship with food wasn’t always romantic, growing up a ballerina, food was the enemy. I believe it’s my life’s work to get past some of the body and food trauma I experienced, and creating in the field of food has been therapeutic to say the least.
One of my best friends, artist Maja Dlugolecki founded “Lobster Club,” an immersive multi-sensory group exhibit by artists for artists. She asked me if I would lead the food experience for these shows. The first one and every show since has been a huge success, shoutout to our amazing team. Food isn’t typical, not even favored in these settings, so we were definitely breaking some boundaries and testing the norm. This was the beginning of creating larger-scale installations in gallery-style settings. I have done every food install for Lobster Club since then, including the artist residency leading up to the group show, where i cook family-style meals for the artists in residence for ten days. I owe so much to Maja for believing and trusting in me to carry this segment of the lobster club as well as open so many doors for me.
My work now is very broad. I like to say its personal and customizable since I get inquiries from any and every angle, which makes my imagination go wild. The more non-traditional, the better.
Because styling is such a staple in my work I often introduce myself as a food stylist. Seems fitting, especially when I am not actually cooking but collaborating with an amazing chef, cook, restaurant, or any kind of organization/business. There is no limit, which is what I absolutely love about this career.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think anything is EVER a smooth road, especially when it’s tied up with so much passion and care. This work is emotional. Execution and strategy play an enormous role, but what has made it hard is staying true to myself and my love for the community. There is so much richness in community exchange. This comes with not so much profit. I always battle with this because as everything is growing in expense, there is still a feeling of wanting to look out for someone and their business in my heart.
Most of my cost comes from the quality of ingredients and supplies. This work is very labor intensive, I don’t think most people realize just how much. And the team I have the privilege of working with deserves the same pay as I do. I would say this is the biggest struggle, being in a career that is incredibly rich in feeling but inconsistent in profit and stability. But we keep it pushing, make it work, and stay grateful. It’s all coming.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
It’s hard to say what I specialize in. I think, truly, I specialize in people and bringing something to life that either lives in their minds or they don’t even know they want/need until they see it take form.
It brings me endless joy to see strangers sharing, especially in the current times of our world. To see them enjoy simple foods, to see them interact and exchange conversation over my installations is pretty priceless.
Food art is a hot topic right now; there are some extraordinary artists doing incredible work. I think what sets me apart is the hominess of my work. Everything is abundant and grounding. It’s approachable and makes people smile. It’s picture-worthy as much as it’s forgetting to take a picture and just be the present moment. I want people to get messy with it and feel comfortable eating in public in a weird setting. It really is uniting.
I’m definitely known for abundance and in particular, that nothing goes to waste. There is always a take-home element in my work, and everything gets used or given away, which is always a “part two” in the installation and so fun.
So much of the work I’ve done has been with my best friends and family, and that’s what I’m most proud of breaking the stereotype that family and business don’t work. I’m also proud of something that is a bit controversial, I’m not huge on social media and I know it’s a powerful tool but its not natural to me, I post “enough” I could definitely post more, but so much of my work has come from trust. Simply trust, and that’s a very rewarding feeling.
Lastly, I’m really proud of my name, “salud salud” – it came very naturally and just stuck; it means health and cheers in Spanish and is so fitting for what I do and who I am.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My work is very emotionally driven; those individuals know what role they’ve played because I express it so much. I’m very much a “say it” person. Whether it was a special one time client or a consistent relationship, they know. And thank you for the millionth time for believing in me.
The one person I will thank here is my ma, Analia, who drops literally anything to help me at any event and never accepts payment, in fact, she adds to it when I can’t afford to pay people I hire the amount I want to pay them. I’ve watched her be a natural host my entire life, making absolutely everything beautiful no matter where we lived, what we were doing, or with whom. Her garage is FULL of event supplies, and she will decorate anyone’s party. She’s always just done it for the joy of it, and I deeply respect that. She always says I’m better than her with design, but she taught me everything I know.
Contact Info:
- Website: allison-jacks.com
- Instagram: salud__salud
Image Credits
Tadzio Dlugolecki
