Mavericks Recap: Shira McDermott

The doors of the lab opened on Tuesday for an evening of talk on food, inspiration, and going without. Shira McDermott, author of the food blog In Pursuit of More and founder of the non-profit Not So Fast, provided all those in attendance with a peek into her life, her beginnings, her inspirations, and where she is going.

“To know where we are going, we must first know where we came from.”

Shira spent the evening as a guide through her journey – from a wonderfully imaginative, but thrifty childhood, to an obsessively consumerist driven and food-deprived life, and finally, to a place where it was John Cougar Mellancamp who sparked her ‘aha’ moment. The moment when she decided that she could find purpose in something more than taking the basics for granted, and living with intention. For Shira, that meant creating and eating with intent, and conversely, fasting to be able to provide what she did not consume to those who needed it more.

“Save some time to dream, ’cause your dream might save us all“

She spoke very candidly both from her notes, and from her heart – and it was easy for the community to witness her energy regarding her work. Whether speaking about the recipes she explores on her blog, or cooking classes with children who often go without at home, the message was simple: “just start.”

Amongst a diverse group of community members – restauranteurs, food enthusiasts, friends – Shira shared her captivating story. What started as a journey for better health and calming the mind, resulted in a movement and a way to bring passion to work and the community. As the evening wrapped up and people slowly filtered out, they left with a small but meaningful gift from Shira: a journal and pins. The journal represented a culmination of a year’s worth of work and Shira’s way of encouraging the community to live with more, on just a little less.