Arlene Krasner
Arlene Krasner (arlenekrasner@yahoo.com) has done many things. She taught sign language to chimpanzees and composition to college freshmen. She mentored college students and hardware engineers, and taught writing to technical writers, English majors, and Engineering graduate students.
Yet Krasner has always remained first and foremost a cook. At age 5, she cooked hamburgers on the hot radiator in her family’s apartment in New York. She learned about good food in New York City during the late 60’s and 70’s and San Francisco in the mid-to-late 70’s. She watched the food explosion in Portland, Oregon, starting in the late 80’s.
During graduate school, when Krasner was not running after chimps to teach them Sign Language, she ran a catering service. With access to a professional kitchen and an extensive wine cellar, Krasner was able to produce gourmet dinners for visiting faculty members. She also served as the chief cook for a fraternity house.
In December of 2005, Krasner and her husband packed up their car, dog and cat, and followed their bliss to Mexico. They gave each other a year of doing whatever they wanted. For her year, Krasner wrote about food and travel.
A year in Mexico turned into 18 months and then it was time to return to the States. Krasner is now enjoying the vibrant food scene in Portland, Oregon.