Dream job alert

She eats, drinks, and travels for her job and still has the body of a sixteen-year-old. What many of you don't know is that I have my own Sarah Jessica Parker sitting here in the office. At least as flamboyant outfits (black doesn't exist in her wardrobe) and a mindset so bubbly that the makers of Moët are jealous. It really is hard work, editor-in-chief of FavorFlav.com but it is also a dream job.

Describe your profession in three sentences
‘Most people think that I wander the city in a somewhat tipsy state every day, searching for yet another new hotspot to then post a cheerful piece about on social media. In broad strokes, that's true.’

Here, for example, Sharon tested the best Mexican restaurants in Amsterdam.

And these are, according to Sharon, the best French restaurants in Amsterdam.

By the way, she doesn't only write about Amsterdam, you know. These are her favorites in Maastricht.

And I always love it when Sharon writes about topics like the incomprehensible menu.

I can imagine that everyone is jealous of your profession, but I think it's also a misunderstanding that you only go through life sipping wine and slurping oysters. Do you have any idea how many hours you clock in a week?
‘According to my housemates, too many, except between June 14 and July 14, 2024, during the European Championship football. Then they (husband and son) prefer to be home alone because, in their words, it doesn't matter who the hottest footballer is, who De Ligt just married, and why the food in football stadiums is often inedible. That said: being editor-in-chief of a culinary platform is not a nine-to-five job, and thankfully so, because I love going out. Aside from the normal workdays, I'm definitely out four evenings a week as well. Often heard: ‘Don't you get dead tired from this?’ No.’

What was the moment when you thought: this is my direction, this is my profession? Or did it just happen as life goes?
‘The latter. I wanted to be a pathologist-anatomist when I was younger. Until someone said (I was eight) that I would have to cut into corpses. Yuck! I was shocked, I just thought it was a nice word. Long story short: I went to study sociology. I didn't know what to expect from that either, but after a little research, it turned out to be the study with the least study hours. I mostly worked a lot alongside it at a small film company, so I had enough money to go out to eat. Even then.’

What education have you followed and did you benefit from it?
‘In five years, I graduated, right on time, and knew all the nice spots in the city. Through connections, I rolled into a magazine publishing company and the rest is history.’

What advice would you give your younger self?
‘Go home after two tequilas, wherever you are.’

With a job like yours, you can't really speak of an average day. But take one that is reasonably representative and tell how it looks.
‘I start early, usually around half past seven. Then I'm very sharp and it's still nice and quiet in my head. Then I drive, if I'm not working from home, to the office. Around eleven o'clock, the question arises: ‘What shall we make?’ The lunch at the office consists standardly of egg with crispy chili oil (a stubborn addiction, not just for me) and a very good salad. A lot of effort is really put into that by various colleagues. I find that lovely. Making food for yourself and for others is really a sign of affection. I always intend to take a walk afterward, but often that doesn't happen. The job is busy and never finished. Articles need to be written, recipes searched, there are marketing activities, strategic things, administration (least favorite), sales meetings... And then we also organize the FavorFlav Food Top 100, an annual event that takes a lot of time. I often try to sneak away before the traffic jam to continue at home. And then there's often some opening I go to afterward. In between, I cook.’

Are you the type that separates work and private life or does everything flow together?
‘That last one. Everything revolves around food and drink, from the latest snack bar snack to that one spice jar you can only buy in France; it's inevitable that it won't be about food.’

Your Instagram account is called @winerebelsharon, which brings us to a misunderstanding because you actually drink quite little, right? And when you do drink, what do you prefer in your glass?
‘I set up a wine magazine years ago and ran it for ten years. Back then, I drank much more than now. Professionally, but also because I could handle it better. There was also a natural warning moment between being pleasantly tipsy and awkward drunkenness in my head. When that went away – age, ugh – I knew: be careful. I want to be in control, and such a terrible hangover the next day, which after your thirties can last until four in the afternoon, I find a waste of my time. I love cocktails. Mixologists are like top chefs: they create insane flavor combinations.’

Always reachable or type ’two phones and Monday you're the first’?
‘Hahaha, no. I'm always reachable.’

What do you wear on a workday?
‘Preferably Nike Air Footscape Woven or Philou loafers. I have different colors and patterns of both because I think they're great. Animal print, camouflage, metallic; I love it. Lipstick. A good pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Sometimes something nicer, but preferably not. No loose clothes, nothing with flowers.’

I sit next to you two days a week and know that you crunch hard on carrots and also that you have a fondness for color and bags from Proenza Schouler. Do you have an ideal work attire?
‘I think you have misophonia, a condition where you can't stand certain sounds (often eating sounds). I promise I won't eat carrots in the office anymore! As for work attire: if I had the money, I would wear Gucci. No flashy logos, but the colorful prints, the beautiful cut, the perfect shade of green and red. Gucci is just as delightful as the Italian cuisine I love so much. Unfortunately, I can't go beyond a Gucci sunglasses budget-wise.’

We really know it: talking about money is not chic, but it's nice for the next generation to know what this job roughly pays. So can you give a rough indication? Above or below the Balkenende norm (180,000)?
‘Is this gross or net?’

Has there been a moment in your career that has been decisive for your career? Where you were quite proud of your action in hindsight?
‘Setting up a beautifully designed wine magazine (unique in its kind) with zero wine knowledge. At the time, I didn't even realize how cool that was. And I also look back with a very proud feeling on the FavorFlav Food Top 100 from last year. The beautiful location (the iconic Winter Garden of Krasnapolsky), the guests (the movers and shakers of Dutch gastronomy), the stunning winner (Karsu) AND the spontaneous performance by Dries Roelvink (guest because of his meatballs at Jumbo): it was amazing!’