Maggie, Ominivores Cookbook
Maggie is from Beijing but now based in Austin. To be honest, I really enjoy reading her blog posts. I've chanced upon her blog because I was thinking about how similar the Hungarian Beigli is to the Chinese Mooncakes. I must really say her write-up about the making of mooncakes impressed me a lot! There is a 'chemistry lesson' within where I learn about making a homemade 'baked baking soda' alkaline solution (kansui/lye water)
INTERVIEW: Anna Knishevitskiy is a Jewish refugee from Ukraine who came to America 19 years ago. She invented patented and trademarked the world’s first easy-open thermometer case - Caremometer. We have conducted an interview with her.
Where are you originally from and what is your educational background?
My name is Anna Knishevitskiy - I am a Jewish refugee from Ukraine who came to America 19 years ago. I had a Bachelor degree in electrical engineering but I always wanted to study restaurant business and food safety, so I obtained my Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from NY City Technical College. It was not an easy task studying with a language barrier, raising a toddler, and working two jobs but I managed. Being the proud recipient of James Beard Foundation Scholarship helped immensely and I graduated summa cum laude.
How did you start on Food Safety invention? What did you discover?
I worked as a Food Service Manager for NY Board of Education and Beth Israel Hospital for a combined 15 years and every day I observed cooks under my supervision potentially contaminate their pocket thermometers by forgetting to sanitize the probe before inserting into the case. This unfortunate reality was disturbing to me since it jeopardized children’s and patient’s lives -people with weak immune systems.
According to the CDC every year millions of people in the United States become ill from food-borne bacteria - of these, up to 5,000 people die. So, I invented patented and trademarked the name Caremometer – world’s first easy-open thermometer case.
What can Caremometer do and why is its design so unique for its function?
The innovative design will greatly reduce the risk and incidence of food poisonings caused by cross-contamination in any kitchen. By simply opening this case the user can easily examine, clean and sanitize the internal surfaces. Other thermometer cases do not open, creating a buildup of food particles that can capture and grow dangerous bacteria. In this situation, people can become tainted with potentially deadly bacteria that travels from the thermometer to their food.
Caremometer is designed to reduce cross-contamination, and it also has other benefits. The lightweight case can be used with various thermometers, and it can even be adapted to suit thermometers in other fields, such as medicine and science. The Caremometer can save consumers and industry costs associated with food poisoning.
How challenging was it for you at the beginning of your journey in food safety invention?
In June 2014 I got into a major car accident that left me temporarily disabled and jobless. It was a dark and scary time for me, but not first time rebuilding my life from zero and learning how to walk step by step. Suddenly I realized that this was my chance to dedicate myself to my invention and food safety. So I decided to become an entrepreneur. I had no idea how or where to start, but thankfully, I had the tremendous support of my son and husband who helped and learned every step of entrepreneurship with me.
I found a factory to manufacture the mold then mass-produced it for sale. I designed the packaging, built a website, made promotional videos, brochures, business cards and created social media accounts. I met with Food Network chefs and Terry French tweeted “Simply genius, hands down best kitchen equipment design I’ve seen in years” and I received postcards from chefs Guy Fieri and Giada De Laurentiis who were amazed by my “brilliant innovation” and wished me luck. At present, my company is only several months old but my product can be purchased at www.caremometer.com or on EBAY and Amazon.
How did you come up with your company name? What is one favorite quote that guides you to your success?
The name ‘CAREmometer’ was easy to come up with - we truly care about this industry and its consumers! My favorite quote is - "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt Disney
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