The idea to start my business, Once Upon a Kitchen, did not happen overnight. The seed was planted after having my now 8-year-old son. After over 12 years of working as a Private Chef and Nutritional Coach where my primary focus was on medical diets, I saw first-hand the immense power that the food we choose to put in our body has over our health and well-being.
As a new mother, foodie, and Chef, I looked forward to the day when my child, now children, would start to cultivate their lifelong relationship with food. I worked hard to incorporate aspects of what adults were eating into my children’s food from the start. If I was eating miso ginger salmon my baby was eating mashed miso ginger salmon. The result is that my children were able to be introduced to a variety of flavors and textures that have set them on the path to being curious eaters.
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As the years passed, I watched many parents struggle with picky eaters and I was often asked for feeding strategies. This sparked my interest in working hands-on with the children themselves. I began teaching cooking and nutrition classes through a local preschool, Newburyport Youth Services and expanded my nutritional coaching to include children of all ages. My work is different than your typical kids cooking class. The meals, though delicious, aren’t often Pinterest-worthy. My primary focus is the process and sensory experience of creating tasteful yet dynamic meals. Often we think of the math and science children can learn through cooking, but it is so much more than that. When we start involving children in the cooking process, they engage all their senses, practice fine motor skills, and nourish their curiosity about what food is and where it comes from. I am often asked if we always cook healthy food. I work with my students and clients to create real food that is wholesome, educate them about nutrition, how food is sourced, and how what we eat impacts our bodies. This does not mean we are always making quinoa and tofu- it means we are making good food with real ingredients and sometimes that means strawberry hand pies with homemade whipped cream.
I find that if you give children this culinary experience early on, you can often curb a picky eater from an early start. Children and adults who have feeding challenges due to sensory processing disorders, medical issues, or diseases can also highly benefit from cooking lessons and nutritional coaching. I’ve worked with kids ages 6 months-teenagers with sensory processing issues and food aversions. I’ve had extensive experience aiding others with their medical diets. One of my many experiences included cooking for a woman who had polio as a child and has difficulty swallowing leafy greens but was eager to learn how to incorporate them into her diet. I’ve also worked with a teenager with Chron’s disease who wanted to learn modified skills to make her own food and to expand her palate. On many occasions, I’ve worked with toddlers with sensory issues who simply don’t want to touch certain foods and parents who are eager to see them expand their food choices.
My son was lucky enough to go to a nature-based preschool which was located next to a community garden. As I worked with these students and saw them make the connection between the garden, my classes, and seeing food as the fuel they were putting in their bodies I became energized. At the time I was working as a Special Education Assistant in the local elementary school in addition to running private cooking classes. I carved out time and secured a location and from there I felt ready to launch Once Upon a Kitchen’s cooking classes and nutritional coaching to a broader audience, then wham, we were all hit with the pandemic and suddenly I found myself working as a remote teacher to my son for the next year and a half.
As a single mother, the pandemic impacted my life tremendously and I wondered and worried about what life would be like when the world reopened. Would there be a place for my business when there were now so many restrictions in place?
The answer is a whole-hearted, YES! Please visit my website www.onceuponakitchen.org to learn more about my 1:1 Picky Eater Program as well as my current class offerings and so much more!
Curious as to how a nutritional coach and cooking instructor can help you and your family?
1:1 Cooking lessons and Nutritional Coaching for children ages 6 months - teenagers. Past clients have used this to work on:
Feeding challenges
Medical diets
A skills based resource and support for people struggling with body image
Strategizing and implementing family meals that feed the whole family
AND kids who are eager to learn how to cook!
