with a culture of lovely meals and gatherings in my family, and the deep sense of connection and value swirled into those experiences. My mom and I have dreamed on and off for years of having a bed and breakfast, or some type of cafe. We both LOVE to cook, bake and host.

In my late teens I began diving into fitness and nutrition as I became a runner and noticed how drastically better or worse I felt on those long mileage training days, depending on what I ate the day before.

After becoming a parent, I felt very committed to health through the food we ate in our home and dedicated myself to learning new recipes; hosting my neighborhood mom friends for brunches, and introducing my children to a wide variety of foods from our garden and local farms.

Facing some hardship due to a toxic exposure, my whole family became very ill and we went through a few years of food allergies, sensitivities and were unable to eat out at all. This motivated me to dive deeper into alternative baking, desserts, and exploring less commonly used vegetables in our menu.

Working with a special doctor for our family, we decided to eat seasonally and have tried almost every special diet out there! I have a huge place of empathy in my heart for those who feel challenged to attend birthdays, events, or family gatherings with food anxiety over whether or not they will become ill. ( My family is doing much better in recent years; and we enjoy a large variety of foods)

I became the baker at a local cafe for a short time and catered a few weddings in 2018-2019. Personal requests and referrals began to increase; and I was asked to fill in for a chef on a retreat in 2022!

The values I cherish of relationships, connection, health & wellness with food being a thread that ties them together, makes retreat chef work SO fulfilling for me to be a part of.

I love it.

I am committed to doing my best & to supporting you in making your retreat, event, birthday, or class a reflection of those values.

Thanks for stopping by my site! I send you blessings and my best regards,

Jess Stoner