Michelle Stern, Founder and Owner of What's Cooking

After a post-collegiate stint at studying primate mating behavior, Michelle taught high school biology and environmental science for 5 years. Now, instead of parenting 150 high school students a day, she focuses on her two wonderful children and various 4-legged pets. When she isnt spending time with her own children, Michelle runs Whats Cooking, a certified-green company that offers healthy and seasonal cooking classes to kids in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not only do her classes teach kids and their families to enjoy delicious home-made foods, but they also motivate families to use food and cooking to help those less fortunate.

A few tasty tid-bits about Michelle:

• Michelle just returned from the White House, where she got to attend the launch of Michelle Obama's Chefs Move to Schools initiative!

• Michelle's workshop, Kids Cook For A Cause, was a highlight of the International Association of Culinary Professionals annual conference in Portland in April 2010.  It paired world renown culinary professionals with local 4-H students to prepare a meal that we ate with Portland's homeless.
  

• Michelle was thrilled to be a featured Holiday Blogger on Oprah.com

• In the past year, Michelle has appeared on ABCs live talk show, The View From the Bay, 6 times to share tips on cooking with kids, waste-free lunch and holiday food ideas.

• In 2008, Michelle was the technical editor for two books:  Picture Yourself Cooking With Your Kids and Kids!  Picture Yourself Cooking.
  

• Michelle received a grant from Heifer International to participate on an Educator Study Tour to Honduras in the summer of 2007, where she learned about sustainable development and the prevention of hunger.

• She helped her friends, the owners of Spread, to cater the Celebrity Poker Tournament at the 2006 Emmy Awards.Michelle assisted her friend, Jennifer Carden, to style food for a Thanksgiving-themed Satellite Media Tour for Food Network Star, Guy Fieri.

• In the past year, Michelle has been fortunate to meet Jacques Pepin and Mollie Katzen, both of whom praised her work on helping families cook and eat well together.

 
Maya Paul,  Independent Consultant in San Francisco and Holistic Health Counselor

Maya W. Paul has always loved food and has enjoyed cooking since she was a young girl.  After a number of years working for various non-profits in the administrative side of things, she is finally following her true passions: health, food, nutrition and cooking.

Maya loves to help others improve their cooking skills, share recipes, shop for local organic foods, continue to learn about nutrition, and especially work with individuals to help them reach their health goals!

Maya received her Holistic Health Counseling training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), in New York City.  This program integrated many of the different dietary theories, combining the knowledge of traditional philosophies with modern concepts such as the USDA food pyramid, the glycemic index, the Zone and raw foods. Maya's certification is pending and will be completed in June 2008. 

Raymond Lacerda Chef, Certified Master Taster, Independent Consultant, Teen Counselor Raymond started learning and helping in the kitchen at a very young age. As he grew, so did his love for cooking. After high school, Raymond began professional training at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Since graduating in 2002, he has gained industry experience working in Marin restaurants, catering, grocery, dining rooms, and more. In addition, he has also been trained in wine-making in the Russian River Valley, and judges foods on a national level. Currently, Raymond is certified as a Master Taster with ChefsBest, rating products produced by the country's leading food manufacturers. During his free time, Raymond is an active volunteer with St. Isabella's parish youth program, working with groups of high school students and discussing major issues impacting their lives. Raymond could not be happier, having found a way to pair his love for food and working with children.

Janet Dresser, Independent Consultant, Seasonal Recipe Expert, Chef and Registered Nurse

Janet Dresser Janet Dresser is the owner of As You Like It catering, and is also an Independent Consultant with What's Cooking in Marin County. As a registered nurse, she is alert to the importance of eating well and eating smart. She believes in eating dishes made from organic products grown, raised and harvested by local purveyors. 

Jenifer Mann, Independent Consultant for Baby & Toddler Foods
 
Jenifer has always had a love for food and finding ways to make delicious healthy meals.  But it wasn't until 4 years ago that she decided to make a career of it.  Although Jenifer's training and career started in the Arts, first as a student in Paris, then as a professional make-up artist and jewelry designer, her most rewarding career to date is being a Mother to her 2 yr old daughter, Julia.  Becoming a mother is when her journey came back to her true passion for cooking.  She became an assistant to some of the top cooking teachers in the East Bay.  As she learned from the best, her passion grew.  When she became a Mom she was inspired to want to help other Moms like herself learn to prepare healthy meals from their child's very first bite.  Healthy Eating = Healthy Baby is her motto.