The Longer Story

Meredith’s culinary adventures began at an early age when she spent evenings in the kitchen with her mother while she prepared elaborate family meals. By the age of eight, she was rising before the rest of her family on weekends so that she could work solo in the kitchen and prepare breakfasts on her own.

Meredith’s passion for cooking was reignited in 2006, when she found herself unfulfilled pursuing a PhD in Sociology. Each day, while sequestered in the library for hours, all she looked forward to was going home to cook on her rustic Wedgwood stove. After vitamin deficiencies led to a series of illnesses, she adopted a vegan diet and began to study nutrition, an exploration that continues to this day.

The most transformational moment in Meredith’s relationship with food occurred in 2007 at the Burning Man festival in Nevada. When greeted by a group of exuberant Hare Krishna followers in the midst of the late-night revelry, offering bountiful helpings of warm, aromatic food and steaming chai, Meredith initially eschewed the food because it was not vegan, even though she was, in fact, hungry. Soon after, she had a heart-opening and life-changing awakening, from which she vowed to always be open to receiving food prepared with love, a message that provides the foundation for her work as a nutritionist and chef.

Shortly after her experience, Meredith left graduate school to devote more time and energy to her love of food. She launched her catering operation and began cooking for yoga and meditation retreats around California, in addition to offering personal chef services and cooking instruction. Since then, she has studied food preparation techniques with acclaimed chefs around California, and gained knowledge and experience as a culinary assistant at the Berkeley-based culinary school Kitchen on Fire.

Meredith has been fortunate to study Ayurveda with numerous teachers over the years including Robert Svoboda (Ayurvedic Institute), Mary Thompson (CA College of Ayurveda), Dr. Siva Mohan, and many others.