Professor of Gastronomy and Sustainable Agriculture at the Culinary Institute of America, a renowned culinary school for young people wanting to be chefs, bakers, or hospitality professionals

Private Chef & Co-Founder of the Loaves & Fishes Catering Collective - focused on local & seasonal farm-to-table food for retreats, dinner parties and large events
(www.loavesandfishescollective.com)

I'm a 31 year old seeker of knowledge, from earth-based wisdom to spiritual teachings, from contemporary politics to esoteric mythology. At the moment, I spend most of my time teaching at a culinary school in California, and cooking for private events on the weekend. My home is in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe, where I have a 10 acre homestead with my beloved partner Lauren, who is a holistic nutritionist and coach for people who wish to heal through food and natural remedies. We love to garden and travel together, and will be flying into Europe this October, first for a culinary conference in Dublin, then to Greece and Sicily. Reach out i you're interested in connecting during our travels, or coming to visit our beautiful orchard and gardens in California :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

CS is wonderful and contributes to a new and evolving part of the human experience. We have drifted so apart from each other with our compartmentalized lives and minds, and I love that this shows a beautiful side to humanity's ability to cooperate and share. And, I love meeting new people around the world! As a fellow traveler, mostly in the United States and Central America, I'm grateful to share my experiences, and to learn from others who enjoy hosting folks like me.

Interests

food production, natural building, positive sexuality, eco-psychology, rustic carpentry, species extinction, widespread injustice, ongoing apartheid, pickle-making, herbalism, beauty, non-verbal/non-violent communication.

alternative energy, peak oil, discrimination, folk music, corporate business practices, socialism, bicycling, vegetarianism, real politics, being barefoot, carpentry, natural medicine, noam chomsky, cultural identity, frisbee, coal energy, deforestation, cooking & baking

• beauty
• dining
• cooking
• breakfast
• baking
• politics
• traveling
• homesteading
• music
• agriculture
• business
• medicine
• parks
• spirituality
• cuisine
• chef

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC - Bonobo, Tinariwen, Krishna Das, John Coltrane

BOOKS - Wendell Berry, Naomi Klein, Noam Chomsky, Elliot Coleman, Derrick Jensen, Charles Eisenstein, Don Miguel Ruiz

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

QUITO, ECUADOR. -- Zip-lining through the jungle and teaching kids guitar in spanish.
ALTAVERAPAZ, GUATEMALA -- Cacao farm exploration
MONTEVERDE, COSTA RICA -- Cloudforest hiking and waterfall adventures
MALINALCO, MEXICO -- Experiential local cuisine workshop

What I Can Share with Hosts

herbal medicine products, inventive cooking abilities, compassionate listening, interest in learning, agriculture knowledge

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Costa Rica, England, France, Guatemala, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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