by Geraldine Duncann, 2008
So, a brief bit of information about me. I will compose a more complete bio later. First, I am a spoiled California brat, being born and raised in the Golden State and being a fifth generation Prune Picker. My great grandparents immigrated to California from Virginia in 1852 and established a cattle farm in the San Joaquin valley. What’s a “Prune Picker?” As opposed to what the Urban Myth people say, time was when native Californians were called “Prune Pickers” because of the agricultural nature of the state. More specifically, it refers to someone from the Santa Clara valley, (not me) which at one time was all orchards of the type of Italian plum that are used to make prunes.
Yes, there was a time when the “Prune Yard,” was a place where they produced prunes, not a collection of trendy gift shops; just like there was a time when San Francisco’s “Ghirardelli Square” was a place where chocolate was made and “The Farmers Market” in Los Angeles was were farmers from the San Fernando valley brought their produce to sell.
My degree is in design, color and composition with a minor ceramics, from The California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. I became a writer and foodie through the back door. Through the influence of my father I became an amateur historian with a special interest in the foods of Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. I was food consultant and catering coordinator at the original California Renaissance Pleasure Faire. My food column ran in the San Francisco Examiner and the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, the author of over a dozen cook books, and a culinary mystery.
I developed my love of photography during my travels and it has grown to include portraiture, boudoir, landscapes, botanical studies and food styling. My travels and my interest in history and fo0d traditions helps to bring depth to my photographic work.
Being facinated history I began exploring food of various periods. This in turn lead to my participation in the Original California Renaissance Pleasure Faire where I became a close friend of creator and producer, Phyllis Patterson and eventually became catering coordinator.
I wear quite a few hats. In addition to writing I’m the singer in a jazz/blues duo and I am also a professional potter and photographer. For the past six years I have written for Examiner.com. With their demise a few months ago I have become the managing editor of this website, The Questing Feast.
I am well traveled, having spent a considerable amount of time exploring the British Isles, Europe, Mexico and the United States, studying the foods and folk traditions of those locations. My food column ran in the San Francisco Examiner and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner for several years and I am the author of over a dozen cook books. My first novel, a culinary mystery, “Valley of Zin” was published in 2007 and is available through Amazon.