the office gourmet

the resourcefulness of my colleagues continually astounds me, especially when it comes to solving that pressing problem of where to eat on campus (peanut M&Ms aside). who would have thought that the nearby hospital cafeteria would be the best place to find nourishing, nutritious and wholesome food? who would have thought that the best way to keep a small carton of milk (appropriate for making a cuppa in one's office) chilled would be to stick it in between the closed and locked hinged window and outside screen? i even once had an officemate who was able to make quite a tasty Kraft Dinner feast using only a coffee maker (ah, my MA year).

today, however, G surpassed them all, concocting, from fresh local ingredients, a pine nut and prosciutto mesclun salad with quality parm, garlic and olive oil on her desktop. i'm not talking writing up a recipe on her virtual desktop. oh no. i mean putting together a delicious salad on her actual desktop, cluttered as it is (and as is mine) with a laptop, telephone, file folders, letters and decorative lamps without spilling a drop of gourmet olive oil. it helped, of course, that she picked up the ingredients on her way into the office from a local italian specialty shop, but the moment of true brilliance came when she produced two tupperware containers and a knife and proceeded to serve the salad and grate the parm before my very hungry eyes. seriously, how often does your colleague agree to an on the fly lunch date and proceed to work culinary magic?

the salad was SO yummy that i began teasing her about her future career as the next jamie oliver. think about it: a book of recipes for academics, all of which can be prepared in the comfort of one's office. a stellar review in the new york times book review is, in my mind, inevitable.

as a thank you i crafted my own culinary dish of sorts in the form of a mock press release, akin to the ones that our university press office sends out from time to time (before my stint in grad school, i worked briefly as a PR jockey). the office gourmet, i'm telling you folks ... if it ever gets written it will revolutionize food as we know it.

Media Alert

The Astute Gourmet

September 18, 2007

Dr. Gwynn Dujardin, a professor in the Queen's English department and a chef with dead wicked skills in the kitchen, is available to discuss the upcoming release of her much-anticipated cookbook, The Office Gourmet: Desktop Dining for the Harried Academic (Hyperion, 2007).

The idea for a collection of recipes that emphasizes fresh, local ingredients and ease of preparation with minimal equipment -- The "Pine Nut and Prosciutto Salad" requires only a Tupperware container and a knife -- came to Dr. Dujardin one afternoon, while feeding a hapless, starving colleague. "She was hungry, and unbelievably frustrated with the appalling food choices on campus," Dr. Dujardin quips. "The look of complete and utter gastronomical bliss on her face as she savored her prosciutto was both heart-warming and inspiring. I knew in that moment that I could help legions of scholars satiate their hunger and fuel their research and teaching pursuits by revealing the secrets of sustenance that I had gathered on my many fact-finding missions in Tuscany."

Colleagues rave about Dr. Dujardin's culinary prowess, and many are regulars at her chic but unassuming office bistro on the fourth floor of John Watson Hall in the heart of the Queen's campus. Though she is fully booked, at the moment, for the 2007-8 academic year, Dr. Dujardin hopes that with the publication of The Office Gourmet many more scholars will discover that academic eating can be a truly satisfying experience.

To arrange an interview, please contact Communications Assistants at Queen's News & Media Services.