Stephanie Sherrill
Stephanie grew up in a small town in the middle of America (population 20,000) where the most exotic restaurant was Applebee’s. After university she spent one year in the international music group, Up With People, where she performed as part of the cast touring throughout North America and Europe. During this year she stayed with over 60 different host families and participated in community service projects, from helping refugees in Sweden to soup kitchens in Nebraska, to building parks in Halifax, Canada.
Stephanie earned her MBA in IT management in Boston. She lived in the corporate world for seven years as a project manager professional for IT systems implementations, traveling nearly every week to meet with her clients. At the same time her husband’s career found them moving to new cities across America every few years.
Her life is reflective of her passion for travel and curiosity of the world. As of today, she has traveled to 25 countries and lived in four. Since moving to China, she has made the most of this opportunity by traveling the countryside to learn about each region, visiting over nine provinces - sampling the cuisine from each. Stephanie strongly believes that experiencing the local dishes is part of experiencing the culture.
Bored of the tai tai life, she decided to put her well-honed skills (dining, shopping, traveling) to practical use, picked up a pen and began to write. In 2007 she joined the Enjoy staff as Dining Editor, where she currently writes the Gourmet Gossip column. She is also the China travel columnist for Examiner.com and publishes a monthly dining article for the American Women’s Club of Shanghai, as well as other freelance assignments.
Favorite cuisines? Mexican and Indian. A close second: Japanese and Sichuan food. Hates? Bugs, chicken feet and beets. Best meal ever: Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant at Claridge’s in London. Her philosophy on trying local restaurants? “If they are courageous enough to encourage the laowai (me) to dine there, then I’m courageous enough to sit down and stumble through my poor, poor Chinese and order.”