About

Hi!  I'm Naomi, author of The Cooks in the Kitchen blog where I feature stories and recipes of my Mennonite heritage. You'll also see me posting monthly interviews with home cooks around the world as I tell the stories of their love affair with food, giving people an inside look at their lives. 

I was born on a farm in Ohio’s Amish country to parents whose lives revolved around farming, ministry and daily gatherings around the table.  The simplicity of their lifestyle combined with a passion for home-cooked meals and deeply-rooted community was a huge influence on my life and caused me to carry these same values into my own family as I infuse the culture of modern living with traditions of my Mennonite heritage.

I love dinner parties, jazz, candlelight and hiking. Beauty and adventure are up there right next to the values of "cleanliness and godliness" which my mama taught me. Travel is a chief desire. There's no one I'd rather cook for than my family. And on Saturdays, you'll likely find me at the farmer's market with a basket on my arm.

I work as a freelance writer, storyteller and food blogger in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.  I am a contributor for our city's magazine, Winston-Salem Monthly and am currently working on a book (which will be self-published in 2017) telling the story of my journey away from the Mennonites. I've been married to my husband, Fred, for 29 years and together we have three grown children and a son-in-law.  A 10-year old Golden Retriever, Myles Davis, is never far from our side.

You may reach me at farmtotablefeasts@gmail.com.