The Chef

When I was having health challenges as a teen, I decided to try to change my diet to help my digestion. My reading and experimenting started me on a life-long journey of recipe testing and research, where I learned to cut out poor-quality foods like white sugar and cheap processed vegetable oils, and to focus on healing the gut. I began to experience firsthand the effects of using “food as medicine.”

In the early 2000s, I learned about Weston A. Price and his research into traditional diets, and I started making my own bone broths, preparing grass-finished meats and drinking raw milk, and reaching out to farmers in my area who were providing these nutrient-dense foods. I studied the traditional Ukrainian and Polish recipes that my grandparents would have made (although in truth neither of my grandmothers cooked from recipes, which is kind of amazing when you think about it!), and I became an active volunteer in my community, advocating for small local farms and community food security.

All throughout my studying and learning, I was cooking my family’s food from scratch every day and experimenting with making traditional versions of every kind of recipe I could think of. I baked sourdough bread, made cheese, grew a garden and volunteered on local farms, fermented the harvest and stocked a root cellar, a pantry and chest freezer(s) for winter. I was really lucky to be part of a Weston A. Price Foundation local chapter where our community would gather for potluck dinners and order food together in bulk.

What sets me apart from other chefs is that I am a very experienced home cook, not a chef trained for the restaurant industry. I am health-focused and relationship focused and clients’ needs are most important to me. My clients are usually health-conscious people who are busy working and raising a family. It’s my intention to provide the same quality of food that you would make to feed your kids. I pride myself on cooking for food allergies and restricted diets, making necessary ingredient substitutions while still making the dishes taste amazing.

In the summer of 2019, I worked at a retreat centre as a cook, and gained the skills I needed to cook efficiently for groups of up to 70 people. I learned how my skills as a cook could help people, and I gained the confidence to start my own business. I have been working as a personal chef in Calgary ever since then. I love working one on one with people in their homes and consider it a privilege to make delicious food for people, to help people improve their health, and to give them extra time in their day to do what they really love.