Food writer, cooking instructor, leader of Slow Food Chicago

Food writer, cooking instructor, recipe creator, leader of Slow Food Chicago. Success as a PR exec led me to the food arena, and my passion for cooking took over after-work hours as well. After years of throwing posh dinner parties, I found friends were too intimidated to invite me back. Went to culinary school, then started my adventure to help people understand that good cooking can be easy. The best cooks start with great ingredients, and those ingredients invariably start on farms where producers grow with care and attention.

Member Since

Jul 11, 2006

Sites

• Rustic Kitchen

What is the next…

Purchase you’ll make?

Wishing for a llama farm, but settling for a red Mustang convertible. I’ll use it for road trips to search out the perfect locale for my someday farm.

Fad that will fade?

Techno chefs. These inventive chefs are all about scented smoke and innovative presentation. But people will always come back to cozy fare and deep-dish apple pie.

Vacation you’ll take?

Dying to see Mount Rushmore. And Bayfield, Wisconsin, on Lake Superior overlooking the Apostle Islands, in June for the blessing of the fleet. Every other October is the Slow Food Terra Madre worldwide conference of farmers in Turin, Italy. But that’s sort of considered work so I don’t include it in my vacation allowance.

Thing you’re going to fight for?

Convincing food manufacturers that consumers do care about responsible production practices. Cheap food is not necessarily a good thing once you understand the cost of shortcuts.

Guilty-pleasure food in which you’ll indulge?

The baseball-mitt-sized fritters at Old Fashioned Donuts on Chicago’s south side. A short detour from the expressway on the way to visit my family in Michigan. Good thing it’s not closer to my house.