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\\u201cElisabeth Watkins is 18 years old. She is the Founder of Farm Girl Chef and she won Chopped Junior on Food Network when she was a freshman in high school!\\u201d

Lori Taylor (0:48 - 0:55)

Elisabeth Watkins from Farm Girl Chef.

Elisabeth Watkins is only 18, but she has already accomplished so much. She won Chopped Junior, a reality-based cooking television game show on the Food Network when she was a freshman in high school. Elisabeth has won numerous awards, including the Youth in Action: Healthy Living 4-H. She is a mainstay on live TV in the Sacramento area, appearing over 50 times. She is also the Founder of Farm Girl Chef, a blog that works to reconnect consumers to where their food comes from.

\\u201cThe mission of Farm Girl Chef is to reconnect consumers to where their food comes from and how its produced.\\u201d

\\xa0- Elisabeth Watkins (6:08 - 6:14)

Having grown up on a farm in Linden, California, Elisabeth is intimately familiar with the diversity of agriculture in the state. She grew up all around specialty produce commodities like walnuts, almonds, cherries, peaches, and she naturally grew an inclination to start cooking with a wide variety of fresh-grown ingredients. Now, Elisabeth has been able to take her passion for cooking with locally grown produce and turn it into a communications business. She teaches consumers about food grown in California through appearances on local television, radio, and through her blog.

Farm Girl Chef\\u2019s mission.

Growing up, Elisabeth was surrounded by farmers. Her family is full of farmers, and all her neighbors are farmers as well. Needless to say, she has witnessed first-hand the amount of effort farmers put it to make sure that our food is safe for consumption and of the highest quality. She also knows that the farmers don\\u2019t have the time to educate the consumers about the benefits of buying locally grown produce.\\xa0

For that reason, Elisabeth Founded Farm Girl Chef to reconnect consumers to where their food comes from and how its produced. She also wants to inspire people to get back in the kitchen and cook with fresh ingredients.

Elisabeth\\u2019s favorite produce items.

When she\\u2019s on TV in Sacramento, or when she\\u2019s posting a recipe on her blog, Elisabeth focuses on ingredients that are in season. Also, the more unusual or under-the-radar the produce item, the better. For example, California used to grow a lot of asparagus, but due to various reasons, now there\\u2019s only one grower left in the state. So, Elisabeth has been trying to do her part to promote asparagus.

Besides in-season and under-the-radar produce items, Elisabeth has a thing for brussel-sprouts. She\\u2019s also a fan of eggplants, and she has been known to cook up some delicious eggplant lasagna from time to time.

\\u201cI want to inspire people to get back in the kitchen and cook with fresh ingredients.\\u201d - Elisabeth Watkins (6:48 - 6:53)

If you\\u2019re interested in learning more about produce that is grown in California, as well as across America, be sure to check out Farm Girl Chef. You will also learn about Elisabeth\\u2019s farm background, and find some delicious recipes that are sure to be a hit at your next party.

How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!\\xa0
• Reach out to us - we\\u2019d love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.\\xa0
• Connect with Elisabeth on Farm Girl Chef, on Pinterest, or on Instagram.

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