Hello! I’m Jared Kaufman

a food reporter, researcher, & cheesemonger.

You can get in touch with me @jaredography on Twitter or Instagram or via email at jaredhkaufman @ gmail.com. I am a food and features reporter at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and, before that, spent several years working as a cheesemonger. Plus, I regularly tell stories onstage at comedy open mics in St. Paul and Minneapolis and have also performed in New York City.

I hold a master’s degree in food studies from Boston University’s gastronomy program, where my thesis research focused on the construction of childhood taste through restaurant kids’ menus. Previously, I graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. More previously, I lost my middle school spelling bee on the word “smorgasbord.”

Reporting + Food Writing

… has appeared in the Pioneer Press, Eater, Racket, City Pages, Boston.com, Food Tank, and more. Check it out!

Cheese + Education

… includes building cheese boards, leading workshops, and helping people better understand the food system. Here’s what I do.

Recipe Work

… involves recipes I’ve written and recipe series I’ve curated. More here!

4 stories I’m most proud of:

  1. “Columbia’s hidden figure: Verna Laboy brings Annie Fisher to life,” Vox Magazine, 2017 [feature on beaten biscuits, race, and how people get erased — the magazine’s cover story. View it in print here. This story won the best student writing on food award from the Association of Food Journalists in 2018.]
  2. “The St. Paul-based inventor of Go-Gurt tells the dramatic story of his totally tubular idea,” City Pages, 2018 [this link goes to a PDF; pour one out for City Pages]
  3. “Don’t expect Guy Fieri’s Tequila Cocina, at the Hub on Causeway, to take you to Flavortown,” Boston.com, 2020
  4. “Angling for Catfishing’s Future,” Vox Magazine, 2018 [feature on Missouri River tournament catfishing and the tensions surrounding eating what you catch. In 2019, this story won both the best student writing on food award from the Association of Food Journalists and a second-place prize for best story about the outdoors from the Missouri Press Association.]

(although I don’t hate the rest of them, if I do say so myself)

Oh, one more thing

I build blueprints for better cheese boards on Instagram @CheeseDeliveryVehicle, and you should follow along

That’s it