There are 22K influencers with a reach over 20,000!I am a student of Avery Rogers, my grandmother who was juicing in the early 1960s. She had a tiny juicer that made six ounces of juice at a time and was committed to great health. She passed at the ripe young age of 89. I grew up in a family where my grandparents and parents raised their own vegetables and I was fortunate to have a plum and peach tree in my backyard. Yes, that meant plum and peach preserves year-round. Food is not only fuel for the body but nourishment and, well, it’s fun.
I grew up during a time when families sat together for dinner. I was fortunate enough to go to my grandparents’ home (up the road from my elementary school) for lunch. Talk about hot lunch, my grandma’s cooking gave it a whole new meaning. I am not an old fuddy-duddy by any means. The food movement toward healthy sustainable food and food sources has only validated what I already knew.
I was formerly in the U.S. Navy and I traveled across the United States, lived for three years in Japan and visited the U.K., and South Korea. I learned quickly we are behind the times when it comes to sustainable food and adapting to the farm to table concept. I can best describe my personality as a supersized smile. I can and do talk to strangers, I’m funny, no, really, I am!
My dad said I had personality plus. I didn’t know what that meant until I was an adult. I am fearless and I don’t take myself too seriously. Most of all I love people. My coworkers would say I am hard working, sweet and one of the best bakers on the planet today.
My love for cooking and baking means I have lots of friends from around the country and world. I suppose you could best describe my personality as that of a social butterfly, fluttering around spreading a happy feeling to all who are open to receiving it. How many years have you been creating whole food, plant-based recipes professionally?
I have been cooking and baking whole food, some plant based since 2014 when I started the Charlotte Pie Authority, a tiny home-based pie shop in Charlotte, North Carolina. I specialized in basic fruit pies. My journey in foods really started before the Charlotte Pie Authority, however. I started a catering company years ago called Cooking with Denay (after serving in the Navy) and wanted to share the many whole food (healthy) recipes I learned why traveling across the globe.
While living in Okinawa, Japan I became fascinated with Steamed Egg Custard, Sukiyaki, the many clear soups (that were delicious, I might add) and my personal favorite Chirashi-zushi a vinegared rice flavored with vegetables that is totally addictive. Some of my recipes can be viewed on my Facebook page, [link-omitted] and YouTube page:
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My accolades include being featured in Bon Appetit’s Too Busy to Cook and having two recipes included in two Bon Appetit Cookbooks. I taught Food Entrepreneurship at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC and for the Wake County Public School Lifelong Learning program in Cary, NC. I’m a published author writing the book that accompanies my courses, How to Start a homebased Bakery Business, development the curriculum and creating a support website title the Foodpreneur Institute.
If you would like to view my book How to start a home-based Bakery Business visit: [link-omitted]
