b"
Tell us a little about yourself.
my extensive hobby as being a gardener
growing up in the 80s food was sort of an after
reddish
so I got a degree in psychology
needed to do something a little more inspiring
lived in Europe for a semester in college
traveled around Europe and really saw food in a different light
experienced it really differently from what I had
relatives out there as well so I came back to the twin cities
Italian kitchens
owners
kind of moved around bit as chefs do is quite normal
I also started gardening at a fairly young age
early twenties
I ended up dating a woman from the Ukraine, she had a strong gardening interest
gardening with my parents
but very simple, chard and green beans and that kind of thing
I started working at a natural foods coop right next to a really old and thriving community garden
in St Paul and that\\u2019s where I met some really great gardeners who I would call mentors
One particular gardener there was a soil scientist at the university of MN, she took me under her wing learned some incredible techniques
One thing that really inspired me from a young age to kind of continue this and do a lot more was just witnessing the differences in her garden and other community gardens
She made her community garden plot not tilled in the back row and the rest of the 90 plots were tilled once a year. In the other plots, the soil was still quite good but it was obvious she had the
It was no mystery she was doing something different and right. It was from her I learned about
Mycorrhizal fungi and the relationship to the plants and how important that was
using those techniques
I was able to follow in her footsteps in a way when she got done, working at an urban agriculture non profit in st paul, centered at gardens all over st Paul
I was able to take over that job when she was finished, working on her phd
I got to be a market gardener for 3 years, all the while I was cooking at night, I couldn't do that these days, way too intense, way too much
So wait, are you a rockstar millennial?
I'm 42 so I'm more of an xer
yeah for me
For many years, I've been involved in both the culinary world and the growing world
I see that they are so intermittently intertwined, and kind of dependent on each other, the communities overlap so much. I find that really inspiring, such that I was able to go to the MOSES
MIDWEST Organic Conference for Organic Farming and meet a lot of great farmers and gardeners
move to the country and start a land based business
Alas I stayed in the city and am still working as a chef
After working at some great restaurants and for some people who are superstars
for natural foods
local alice waters
worked for this woman for 7 years, after that ended
I started my own business as a personal chef, working in people\\u2019s homes
cooking Monday - Friday, everyday meals, it's different from catering
Gives me a lot more time on weekends and evenings
being a chef is pretty awesome but the restaurant life can..."