Rebecca Firkser
Hi! I’m Rebecca, a Brooklyn-based freelance food writer and recipe developer. I’m from northern New Jersey, and I feel very strongly in favor of Taylor ham and Sloppy Joes. I firmly believe in finding joy in eating, and never moralizing food. Most of my work consists of translating professional cooking into content that’s digestible—figuratively and literally, hah!—to home cooks. I do a lot of baking, but I especially love writing “cool” budget-conscious recipes. In addition to the front-facing stuff, I also do a lot of behind-the-scenes food media work: editing and cross-testing recipes; food styling and culinary production for photo and video. Here’s a peek at a day in my life
Breaking Down With Rebecca Firsker
“I like to wake up as early as I can handle: That’s something like 6:30; I’ve tried earlier but my old bones simply could not handle it on a regular basis. I prep a batch of blueberry scone dough for a recipe I’m developing for Epicurious. This dough requires a quick freeze to help keep them extra-lofty, so I work out while they chill. (One of the very few good things that came out of the pandemic is the increased availability of online workout platforms—I’ll be glad if I never step foot back in a gym.)
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“I pop the scones in the oven—this is my third round, so I know the recipe works, but wanted to do one final bake to know for sure it’s airtight on my end. Onto the next: I’m developing the recipes for a cookbook (not mine! But maybe someday?) and today’s project is a second test on a super-fluffy focaccia. After I mix up that dough and set it aside for its first proof, I put yesterday’s dishes away. Quick shower while my coffee brews. Try as I may, I cannot get into cool modes of brewing like pour-overs or moka pots. I have a basic 12-cup drip coffee maker and I use it every dang morning. I love it. Scones are done! Poofy and deeply golden: My Platonic ideal.
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“I take 5 minutes to sip coffee on my little terrace. It’s chilly, but *almost* feels like spring. I find that motivating. After that, finish the coffee while responding to a few emails, and filing some invoices and projects due this week. An hour or so later, more coffee and laptop work (recipe drafts, some other writing projects). I also nibble on a scone. By 11, my focaccia is moving through its proofing stages while I move through more Zooms and laptop work.
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“I’m pretty terrible at making lunch unless I’m excited about the food. Usually, I just munch on recipe tests, but I do get excited about oatmeal (don’t yuck my yum!!) so I make a quick bowl. The secret to truly great oatmeal is to soak the oats in water for at least an hour first, but I’m too hungry for that. While the focaccia bakes, I place a grocery order for the rest of the week’s recipe development (Fresh Direct: If you’re reading this, I love you.)
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“Focaccia’s done! Now I’ve moved onto the first test on a raspberry galette—today’s apparently a Big Baking Day. I thought about shooting a Reel for a brand I’m working with, but was honestly too tired; naturally I did more recipe drafting instead. Your girl knows how to relax!”
“Another test for this cookbook: bitter greens Caesar. I plopped a couple Seemore sausages into a skillet after the tests to munch on along with everything else (the best for protein-related dinner emergencies). I work on resolving some notes from the author on other book recipe drafts while I eat.”
“After sitting on the couch watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls for a bit, I take very serious “tasting notes” on my galette (also known as: eating it). But I do think I need to pull back on the sugar for the next test because the fruit got *so* juicy. Though personally I kind of love when galettes burst all over the sheet pan. A task for tomorrow! Goodnight.
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