Hi, I'm Jenn de la Vega.

I'm a caterer, event producer, author, cookbook collaborator, recipe developer, food stylist, and veteran community manager based in Brooklyn, NY. I love talking about food experiences, new technology, and teaching people how to cook. If you have questions or want to work with me, please get in touch! I am certified by New York City in Food Protection.

THE FANCY BIO

Jenn de la Vega is a community-oriented caterer based in Brooklyn, NY. She authored and styled her debut cookbook Showdown: Comfort Food, Chili & BBQ (Page Street/MacMillan). Jenn has built a unique culinary practice mashing up experiential with visual art and food through residencies at TASTE Cooking (Penguin-Random House), Babycastles Gallery, and Kickstarter. Her kaleidoscopic recipes appear on Food52, The Kitchn, Thrillist, Yummly, and Wine Enthusiast. Jenn’s cookbook collaborators include author Von Diaz, Forbes 30 Under 30 chef Tue Nguyen, Michelin star chef Nick Curtola, and NYT Best-Selling author Justine Doiron. Currently, she is developing a cookbook with Maria Mazon of Top Chef fame and recipe testing a forthcoming anime cookbook for Viz Media.

On her menus, you'll find a mash-up of her Filipinx heritage, Spanish tapas, artisanal cheese, and 90's inspired fast-food cuisine. She is known for her Randwiches or "random sandwiches" in Brooklyn, where clients are given no choice in what they order.

As a seasoned cook-off contestant, she is a judge of The James Beard Awards, The Takedowns, Specialty Food Association SoFi Awards, and New York Hot Sauce Expo's Screaming Mimi Awards. She has also appeared on Guy Fieri’s Grocery Games on Food Network and Roker Media’s ChefShock with Justin Warner on Twitch.

Outside of the food industry, Jenn serves on the Board of Directors for The Tank. She is also an ENNIE-nominated tabletop roleplaying podcaster who voices Vivian Lakewood on the narrative-play Shadowrun podcast, Fun City.

Headshot by Ada Jane McNulty.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Author & Cookbook Collaborator

I work with publishers and authors to manage cookbook production, recipe development, research, writing, and testing. My previous collaborators include TwayDaBae, Justin Doiron, Nicole Taylor, Von Diaz, Nick Curtola, and Angela Dimayuga. You can find all of my book projects on this page.

Food Program, Wonderville

Wonderville is a bar and art arcade located in Bushwick. I curate exciting themed hot dogs and crowdsource names based on your favorite videogames. Ask the bartender about the weekly special.

Voice, Vivian Lakewood, Fun City

Fun City is a cyberpunk narrative play RPG podcast set in a post climate catastrophe New York City, in the year 2101. With Jenn de la Vega, Nick Guercio, Shannon Odell, and Bijan Stephen. GM'd by Mike Rugnetta with troublemaker Taylor Moore.

Jenn also played Merkis Imeldar on Float City and produced the murder mystery mini-series Cozy City.

Available on all podcast platforms.

PAST

Editor-at-Large, Put A Egg On It

Put A Egg On It is an irreverent digest-sized art and literary magazine printed on green paper out of New York City. It’s about food, cooking and the communal joys of eating with friends and family. The magazine features personal essays, cooking tips, photo essays of dinner parties, and special art projects. Every issue also includes a themed recipe section.

NYU Interactive Telecommunications Innovation Lab (2015)

ITP Innovation Lab is a month-long program about hands-on play, collaboration, creating, and doing. Embracing the freedom of swift ideation and rapid design; then translated to larger, more focused project execution.

Ideation and prototype art installations for Moorehouse College, The New York Public Library, The Climate Museum, Fresh Kills Park, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, and Radiolab.

Host, Culinary Word of the Day

A 5 minute podcast to expand your vocabulary of the comestible across agriculture, technology, cooking techniques, trends, and international cuisine. Available on Simplecast, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher.