I was having panic attacks at the Four Seasons Hotel, throwing myself into work while my anxiety intensified. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've learned that food and mindfulness can be powerful tools for managing anxiety.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. Food and mindfulness became my path out of anxiety - not as a cure, but as a way to stay grounded and present in my own life.   Anxiety is something many o

"Look for the helpers," Mr. Rogers said. But what if we've stopped noticing them? After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've watched people quietly show up for each other in unremarkable, beautiful ways.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. Small acts of kindness - the kind that don't make headlines - create the fabric of connection that holds us together. No one is talking about the helpers. We talk about the chaos, t

A lot has happened in these few weeks - some heavy, some beautiful, most of it still settling in my bones. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've learned that the most important transformations often come from the hardest moments.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. My sister's death and a powerful retreat led me to change my business name from Gather Culinary to Nourish and Gather - reflecting what I actually do.

"How do you cope with everything you've got going on?" It's a question I hear often, and the answer might surprise you. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've developed some practices for managing overwhelm.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. Coping with overwhelm isn't about fixing everything - it's about focusing on what's here, what's good, what's working. See the donut, not the hole. After my last newsletter,

Kids making huevos rancheros told me, "I know how to do this" before they'd even picked up the knife. They didn't. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've watched people resist learning because they think they already know.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. The skill we need most isn't knowing all the answers - it's staying open, curious, and willing to learn. This week in after-school class, the kids made huevos

A girl in my class said, "I was good today - I didn't have dessert." She was eight years old. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've heard kids absorb language about food that teaches them shame instead of nourishment.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. The language we use around food teaches kids more than nutrition - it teaches them about worthiness, control, and their relationship with their bodies. The other d

Today I sat outside in the pouring rain for fifteen minutes, laughing at the sheer wildness of it. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've learned that joy doesn't have to be planned to be powerful.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. Joy doesn't have to be planned or scheduled - sometimes the best nervous system reset comes from saying yes to spontaneous moments of aliveness.   Today, I did something I haven’t done

One of my students cut her fingernail with a peeler, tears welling up. Five minutes later, she was back at her cutting board. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've watched small setbacks become powerful lessons in resilience.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. A small cut in the kitchen teaches something profound: setbacks feel catastrophic in the moment, but five minutes later, you're okay - and that builds genu

I asked a group of teenagers, "What are you great at?" The silence was deafening. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've noticed a troubling pattern: kids can list their flaws instantly but struggle to name a single strength.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. When kids can list their flaws instantly but struggle to name a single strength, we have a problem - and it starts with how we've taught them to see themsel

"I don't trust everything you say," my 16-year-old told me. Even though I know it's developmentally right, it still stung. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've encouraged questioning in the classroom while struggling with it at home.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. When our kids start questioning us, it feels like defiance - but it's actually them finding their voice, and that's exactly what we want. "I don't

I asked AI if my website reflects what I know about teaching and cooking. The answer? No. It told me I needed to spell it out. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've learned that cooking intrinsically builds confidence - but I don't always say that explicitly. I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. Cooking intrinsically builds confidence - whether it's kids using fire and knives or adults discovering they can actually

A senior girl in my class said "No, stop" while nervously laughing. I asked if she'd thought about how laughter might send a different message than saying no. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've learned that language - not just words, but tone and energy - shapes everything.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. Language is powerful - not just the words themselves, but how we use them, our tone, and how often they

Earlier this week, I broke my own kitchen rule: never leave the kitchen when something is on the stove. Within minutes, my smoke detector was blaring. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've taught kitchen safety countless times - and I still made this mistake.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. Kitchen fires happen fast, and knowing what to do - and what NOT to do - can make all the difference. Here's what every p

"Eggs make me puke," my five-year-old niece said, looking up at me from her plate. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've watched dinner become a battleground in too many homes.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. When dinner becomes a battle, you've lost control of your table - but not in the way you think. Here's how to take it back without force or fights. I shared a reel recently about one small shift that can

"I don't like kimchi," the 10-year-old boy said with complete conviction. Then he paused. "Wait. What even IS kimchi?" After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've watched this pattern repeat itself countless times.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. Kids' first answer to unfamiliar food is often no - not because they don't like it, but because they don't know it. One question changes everything. "I don't like kimchi."

"If you haven't asked how you can help, don't sit down." One of my adult students said this to her family, and it changed everything. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've learned that the most important lessons happen when we work together.  I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox. Cooking is a team sport, and the dinner table is where we practice being in community - sharing the work, not just the meal. If you haven’t

The world feels fractured. People are examining traditions with new eyes, questioning what we've always done. After 30 years teaching cooking to 50,000+ students, I've learned that the most important skill is holding complexity without collapsing into either/or thinking. I send stories like these twice a month. Subscribe to get them in your inbox . Thanksgiving has complicated roots - and also, we're going to gather and feel grateful. We can hold both truths at once, and that

Melanie Underwood, founder of Nourish and Gather and author of Making Artisan Cheesecake, was featured in About Olive Oil discussing her approach to making a cheesecakes. Thanks to Melanie Underwood, author and chef instructor at the Institute for Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City for this unique white bean and herb olive oil cheesecake recipe. This savory cheese cake features an herbed olive oil garnish.  The versatility of this cheesecake is limitless. Chickpeas or

This shortbread is what I make when I want something warm, quick, and grounding without turning the kitchen into a production. It comes together in five minutes, bakes in twenty, and it’s one of those recipes you can change without thinking too hard. I used cardamom for this version because I love the warmth it brings, but I’ve made it with coriander too, and it’s just as delicious in a completely different way. You can add orange zest, lemon zest, vanilla bean, or black pepp

From my book, Making Artisan Cheesecake, Quarto Publishing 2015 This is delicious with the goat cheese, but you can use all cream cheese if you prefer or use an equal amount of mascarpone for the goat cheese. The crumb crust and topping make this taste almost like an apple pie. Streusel Crumb Crust 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour 1 ½ cups (340 g) light brown sugar ¾ cup (60 g) rolled oats 1 tablespoon (7 g) ground cinnamon Pinch of ground nutmeg 12 ounces (337 g) unsalted bu