Software Transcriptionist
Resume:
BARBARA J. ROLEK
Crown Point, IN 46307
*/**-******* *** ******* PRODUCER, EDITOR, CHEF
WEB CONTENT PRODUCER -- Guide to Eastern European Food on New York Times-owned
About.com Web site, http://easteuropeanfood.about.com. Chicago Ethnic Restaurant Examiner
for Examiner.com, http://exm.nr/ethnic-chicago-restaurants, Northwest Indiana Restaurants
Examiner for Examiner.com, http://exm.nr/northwest-indiana-restaurants, and “Cooking with
Basia” columnist on ORLA.fm, a London radio Web site, http://www.orla.fm/index.php/cooking-
with-basia/cooking-with-basia. Responsible for writing and editing all online content,
newsletters, daily blogging, increasing page views, SEO, keyword creation, tagging, HTML, etc.
1/04-1/08 FOOD EDITOR, The Times of Northwest Indiana / Shore Magazine
FOOD EDITOR, Restaurant Critic and Features Copy Editor for a daily newspaper with a
circulation of 100,000 in South Suburban Chicago and Northwest Indiana and for the paper‘s
niche magazines, including Shore. Responsible for content, researching and writing feature
stories and two weekly columns, editing, supervising staff and freelance writers. Winner of a
2007 Hoosier State Press Association award for a story about the ketogenic diet in the treatment
of epilepsy in children.
1/98-present IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
INSTRUCTOR OF CULINARY ARTS at Ivy Tech’s various Indiana campuses (Valparaiso,
Michigan City, Gary, East Chicago). Instruct students in soups, stocks, sauces, entrées, meat
cutting, fish and seafood, sanitation, knife skills, pastry arts, and prepare them for a yearly
scholarship competition.
4/99-1/04 FREELANCE WRITER
WRITER of food, medical, lifestyles, human interest, business and hard news stories for The
Chicago Tribune and The Times of Northwest Indiana. Food writer and restaurant critic for The
Post-Tribune newspaper of Northwest Indiana. Also wrote for Epicurean Traveler, Lake,
Midwest Living and Midwest Food Service News magazines and online for cheftalk.com. Co-
author with Dr. William Stimack of “Tell Me How Long You Want to Live, and I’ll Tell You
What to Eat to Get There.” Named a finalist in the Greenbrier and Susan B. Langhorne Food
Writers Competition for 2002.
8/97-4/99 GA FOODS GROUP
EXECUTIVE CHEF of a central commissary that generated food for five Northwest Indiana
grocery stores, including deli salads, tossed salads, pizzas, soups, dips, dressings, pot pies, hot
case items, cold case items, gourmet foods and desserts. Created the Home Meal Replacement
program of individually portioned, reheatable vacuum-sealed meals. Supervised a staff of 30.
Responsible for the creation of over 300 original, standardized recipes, food purchasing, costing
and control, accounting, P&L statements, merchandising, promotions, catering, in-store demos
and classes.
9/96-8/97 C-CAP
CHEF MENTOR for the Chicago Board of Education Careers Through Culinary Arts Program at
George Henry Corliss High School. Instructed students in classical French techniques, including
knife skills, sanitation, nutrition, soups, sauces, entrées, breads, pastry, and real-world job skills
in a café situation. Prepared students for the C-CAP scholarship competition.
8/91-9/96 MOCO ENTERPRISE RESTAURANTS
PASTRY CHEF AND TOURNANT for Chicago’s Maple Tree Inn restaurant. Responsible for
dessert creation from inception to production. Specialized in French desserts (mousses, soufflés,
tarts, Bavarians, puff pastry) and croissants, Danish, breads and rolls. Also worked sauté, grill
and broiler stations in the creation of Creole-Cajun dishes.
PASTRY CHEF AND TOURNANT for Chicago’s Lion’s Head restaurant. Specialized in Italian
pastries (tiramisu, torta di ricotta, spumoni cheesecake, mascarpone tart, biscotti, cannoli) and
breads (focaccia, pizzas, artisan breads). Also worked sauté, grill and broiler stations in the
creation of upscale Italian cuisine.
EDUCATION
WASHBURNE CULINARY SCHOOL, Chicago, Ill.
AA degree in Culinary Arts. Recipient of Outstanding Achievement Award and Anheuser-
Busch/Chicago Urban League Scholarship.
ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY, Chicago, Ill.
Pursued the Bachelor of General Studies degree with a specialization in business/computer
science.
KNOX COLLEGE, Galesburg, Ill.
Pursued the Bachelor of Arts degree with a specialization in French. Selected to study in
Besancon, France junior year. Awards: Illinois State Scholarship, Knox College Scholarship.
Notes: As the food editor for The Times of Northwest Indiana, I was responsible for all food-
related content. I selected and researched topics, assigned stories to staff writers and freelancers,
and followed projects from inception to page layout, which included extensive copy editing. I
developed recipe standards and created nutritional information when appropriate. Additionally, I
wrote two columns weekly, many of the centerpiece stories, maintained a blog, food styled and
shot food photographs. All of this is in a tight deadline-oriented environment. I was relied on for
creativity, independence and the ability to see a project through from inception to completion.
Additionally, I have created many reader-interaction contests such as the Potluck Recipe Contest.
I am a member of the Association of Food Journalists and American Culinary Federation.
As an executive chef and pastry chef, I espoused the concept of feeding the eye first -- creating
beautiful, appetizing food that tasted good -- appealing across the board from gourmet meals to
comfort food and developing a home meal replacement program before it became so popular.
As a culinary instructor for home cooks, I offered students a way to entertain with do-able
recipes -- those requiring minimal steps and ingredients but were still of company quality and
tasted great. On the flip side, I also have taught culinary students classical French techniques --
patés, galantines, ballotines, etc.
I have a well-developed palate and keep abreast of the latest culinary trends and translate them
into reader-friendly versions via recipe manipulation or streamlined techniques.
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