Are you the type of person who lives, breathes and ... um ... eats up food news? Are your weekends and credit card bills jammed from visits to the scores of new restaurants that have opened during this busy year in Dallas dining? We've seen chefs turn the brewpub model on its head, watched bar owners embrace Hungarian dishes and witnessed comic opera battles between a food critic and a whole slew of restaurants. It takes a special sort of person to keep track of what's cooking, and it that's you, the Observer has a proposition for you.
After four-and-a-half years pummeling my arteries with burgers, barbecue and tacos, I've decided to take some time to myself and embrace an exclusive diet of fresh salad greens and avocados. I'm moving to Los Angeles at the beginning of December, and while I'll still have some time to cover our delicious food scene, we've got an exciting new job to fill.
As the Observer's food editor, you'll have access to the personalities who are shaping the city's menus. You'll witness new restaurants gain traction and talk to veteran chefs and owners as they adapt to an ever-changing environment. You'll publish stories that will help Dallasites stay in touch with daily restaurant news, and you might even get personal late-night texts and tweets from Knife chef John Tesar.
Here are the details:
The Dallas Observer has an opening for a full-time editor to manage our food section online. The food editor works with the editor-in-chief to set the tone of the Observer's coverage, then carries out that vision by recruiting and managing freelance writers, assigning and editing stories, writing daily online food coverage and directing special projects.
Candidates should:
• Understand the breadth and depth of the Dallas restaurant industry and be eager to learn more about what's happening.
* Have an insatiable appetite for good food- and drink-related stories and a news writer's instincts for uncovering and sourcing those stories.
• Be able to manage a team of contributors and add talented writers to that team.
• Edit stories quickly and accurately.
• Write timely, well-reported and thought-provoking stories that reflect a sophisticated understanding of food and the restaurant industry.
• Be comfortable with writing and editing long- and short-form stories and capsule reviews and descriptions.
• Have a strong background in social media and adapt easily to the fast-paced world of online journalism.
• Arrive equipped with a vision for the Observer's food coverage.
If this is you, write a cover letter discussing: the scope and sources of your culinary knowledge; your approach to restaurant criticism; and your thoughts on the current culture of food reporting. Include a résumé and three links to your best work and send to: [email protected].
