The first pass at Bite Bite Pass
An evening debut never hurt anyone...
An introduction
Ah, hello! I am so excited to be writing this. I have so much to say, but one thing I don’t want to make a habit of is writing too much. So, as this is the first of many, please bear with me. I’m sure I’ll iron out the details by this time next year.
If you’re here, you care about what I have to say. And I’m grateful that you want to listen! It’s been almost ten years officially of the Hungry Jess journey, and no matter where you hopped on, I’m sure there’s something to learn from today’s essay or something you’ll want to ask me.
If I learned anything from my first newsletter series as Hungry Grl Big City (circa 2018 - 2019), it was:
Less fluff and more concrete takeaways.
The “fries before guys” mindset is a bit outdated.
A lot of exclamation points can be overwhelming.
Please be less cringy.
However, if I was never cringy on the internet, would I be where I am today?
Shoutout to my friend, Mel, who was also the original “Content Manager.”
Speaking of where I am today, I want to use this first edition of Bite Bite Pass as an introduction to some of my past lives that you may find interesting.
Here’s a brief timeline of my professional journey. There are some gaps, but I think this is the most interesting:
June 2012: My first internship at an advertising agency (I was 16) as an account management intern for the Starbucks account.
September 2013: Started college at Pitt.
April 2015: Hungry Grl Big City was born.
June 2015: Internship at Food Network Magazine.
June 2016: Back to the advertising agency as a copywriter intern.
May 2017: Graduated from Pitt.
May 2017: Started a fellowship at Business Insider as a Food Video Writer (where I made ridiculous videos about giant drinks).
January 2018: Started as a freelance social media producer at Forbes for their women’s network.
October 2018: Moved to Pittsburgh on a whim & to try freelancing on my own.
June 2020: Started the rebranding process to Hungry Jess.
May 2021: Launched the Hungry Jess Big City brand.
Summer 2021: Worked on producing Food Network & Kardashian television shows.
aaand today, December 2024: Pivoted to managing ten social media clients, falling out of love with influencer work, and wanting to write again.
A fun “work” photo from my Business Insider days. I wasn’t kidding about the drink size.
So, why is all of this important? I feel it ties into a lot of the more prominent topics I want to cover in future issues: finding the balance of what you share personally online, setting boundaries, getting a cease and desist (and how to find a trademark lawyer), what it really means to freelance and run your own business, the truth of being an influencer, how to navigate your car being set on fire, the road to turning 30, dating as someone that doesn’t work a 9-5, and oh so much more…
For now, I want the takeaway to be: I’ve learned a lot since I was a nobody at one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. I’ve worked in marketing for almost 15 years, which has changed SO much. Building a brand isn’t easy, but being authentic, curious, and working hard can really take you far.
Below is a photo of a post-it I found in the desk of my first internship. It’s now hanging at my desk in Field Day. And I need to remind myself of it twice a day.
“If you reach, work, believe, and continue to dream, you can get what you want!”
Now for the ‘Hot List’
I’m excited to bring back this iteration! This will be a condensed version (because deadlines and trying to keep this short).
As mentioned on my Instagram, The Parlor Dim Sum. It’s been my favorite spot for a week-night date night: grab seats at the bar, a beer, and all of the dumplings.
Keeping on the topic of restaurants, Ross (my BF) and I went to Casbah for his birthday. It was one of the best meals, from service to ambiance to taste, in a long time. I highly recommend the duck.
Jersey bagels… enough said. More on those next year.
Last weekend, I went to the Jhene Aiko concert, and I still can’t stop watching my Instagram stories. I even made a Spotify playlist inspired by the setlist, opening acts, and other related songs.
I linked them on my Instagram Story earlier this week, but these Hydra-Gel Eye Patches from Peter Thomas Roth have been saving me as I work 9+ hour days this week… typical working in marketing in December vibes. No affiliate link here, just a product I will use repeatedly… and it currently comes in a box set. Treat yourself.
Last item for the week: I have an old car, and I also have trust issues when it comes to reliable auto repair shops (I had a nightmare experience this summer, more than happy to chat about it in my DMs). However, I can’t recommend Herky Miller enough: family-owned, honest, and never judges my lack of car knowledge. I just got an oil change on Monday, and I’ve never felt more like an adult.
It’s Giving Ina Garten
While I am currently in my heavy cooking era and will have some more concrete recipes to share in January, I want to share a recent one my boyfriend and I made that really wowed us: Shrimp Scampi.
Fun fact: this was the first dish Ross and I ever made when we started dating. I really wanted to wow him with how Italian I was, and I was definitely the first girl he dated that asked him his favorite pasta shape on the first date; and definitely the only one that said hers was bucatini.
I always refer to this New York Times recipe for inspo, with moderations as we see fit. The shrimp was from Penn Ave Fish Co., and the rest of the ingredients were from Penn Mac Co. *Insert Ina’s ‘Store bought is fine’ quote here.*
See you in 2025! Please send me any and all feedback, thoughts, questions, etc etc.