Julie Burba

director of marketing and communications, Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

Julie Burba grew up in Manlius, Illinois, a small farm town (pop. 450) surrounded by corn and soybean fields and hog farms. Although not from a farming family herself, she spent high school summers detasseling seed corn and walking soybean fields to remove ‘rogue’ corn stalks. Julie attended and graduated from Western Illinois University, earning a BA in Mass Communications and Journalism. Her first job out of college was with the Bureau County Farm Bureau, working to promote USDA and IDA (Illinois Dept. of Agriculture) policies and programs to area farmers. She moved to Boston in 1990 and worked for the American Meteorological Society and Harvard University in their respective public affairs departments. Meanwhile, Julie also worked at the Essex Sea Grille and the Women’s City Club of Boston as a prep cook and catering staff. In 2001 Julie decided to pursue her passion for cooking and baking at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts (CSCA). She enrolled in the School's Professional Chef's Program and earned her culinary arts diploma in 2002. After graduating, Julie joined the staff of Formaggio Kitchen as its Sous Chef/Catering Manager. During this time she also started teaching cooking classes in the CSCA’s Recreational Program and catering private parties. Julie also worked as a rounds cook at Tomasso Trattoria and Enoteca in Southborough, MA. She earned the Certified Culinary Professional certificate from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) in March 2003. Through her responsibilities at the CSCA, she is able to advise, lead, and educate students on not only the technical aspects of cooking but also the social responsibilities of the culinary industry. She is a member of Chef's Collaborative, the American Corn Growers Association, the Kansas City Barbecue Society, and Slow Food and volunteers at Pete & Jen's Backyard Birds processing chickens. She is currently the Director of Marketing & Communications and a chef instructor at The CSCA.