Teacher Bios

Al Bourgeois builds chicken coops and compost bins around the Metro area with his company, 'The Chicken Enthusiast.' He keeps a small flock of chickens for entertainment, eggs and fertilizer.

David S. Cargo is a former baker at Trotter's Cafe and Bakery and the St. Agnes Baking Company, and is a featured baker in Kim Ode's Baking with the Saint Paul Bread Club.

Suzanne Driessen, University of Minnesota Food Safety Extension Educator, teaches food safety to consumers and food service providers.

Anna Dvorak is a personal guide for living a vibrantly healthy life. She teaches about healthy choices for our skin, home environments, and bodies.

Canan Karatekin is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota. She is originally from Turkey and loves to cook Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes.

LeslieJo Meyerhoff has over 10 years of experience hunting and consuming wild mushrooms. She is self-taught and to date has eaten 80 different kinds.

Heather Sawdey is a Holistic Health Practitioner, a Trainer and Presenter for the National Exercise Trainers Association and has been teaching fitness and running programs for the last decade. Her energy to improve lives through health, simple options is contagious.

Mike Stickel has taught dozens of ethnic vegan cooking classes for the Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts.

Terral Stoltz is currently a registered and licensed dietitian practicing clinical dietetics. She strongly believes in bringing balance to the body and mind by nurturing both with whole, health-promoting foods.

Jennette Turner consults with private clients and develops recipes for the Wedge demo program, What's for Supper? Her online subscription meal-planning service is "Dinner with Jennette."

Jeff Woodward is one of the premier natural foods cooking teachers in the United States. Over the last 30 years, he has presented his unique approach to creating joy and vitality through high-quality food to over 10,000 people in North America.

Special Guest Teachers from Tunisia:

Abdelmajid and Onsa Mahjoub own and run a farm in Northern Tunisia, most of the farm is certified organic and some in transition. While the exploits of the northern Mediterranean countries are by now well known, Tunisia is just beginning to be discovered. Today, land conservation efforts and a focus on traditional methods of food preparation are opening the world's eyes to the bounty that Tunisia offers.

The history of farming on the Mahjoub family's land dates back some 28 centuries, since the rule of the Carthaginian Empire. In the 1930's the Mahjoub family became owners of the el-mahrine olive grove, and planted a variety of food products that are staple ingredients native to their food culture. Rejecting the use of lye in the curing of olives, using 15 kilos of tomatoes to make just 1 kilo of sun-dried tomatoes, and decanting their extra virgin olive oil by hand are just a few examples of the respected customs that the Mahjoub family are honored to bring to your table.

Their offerings include hand-rolled couscous, extra virgin olive oil, traditional harissa spread, sundried tomatoes, preserved lemons, wild mountain capers packed in salt, naturally cured olives, and a variety of fruit jams and chutneys. Many of these items will be used in the dishes prepared during the class. These dishes can be easily done as vegetarian or vegan.

Traditional tastes of Tunisia, a land and cuisine to be discovered. Join us and meet the family and passion behind this incredible line of pure ingredients and learn how to prepare simple and elegant dishes. (Demo with lots of snacks so you will not go away hungry but we can't promise you won't be wanting for more!)