Farmhouse Culture began in 2008, but its roots reach back much further. While living and learning how to cook professionally in Germany in the 1990s, I fell in love with the deep, complex flavors of traditionally fermented foods. As I traveled and learned more, I became just as interested in the people who made them.
Along the way I discovered that many of these foods were also remarkably good for us. Well before probiotics became a household word, cultures around the world had developed fermentation as a practical way to preserve food while creating extraordinary flavors. I wanted to help bring those traditions back to the American table.
That vision became Farmhouse Culture. Over the next twelve years, we grew from a small artisan producer into an award-winning, national brand, helping introduce millions of Americans to live-culture foods. We created bold new kraut flavors like Smoked Jalapeno and Ginger Beet inspired by traditions from around the world, we launched Gut Shots, a probiotic beverage that created an entirely new category, and we earned some of the natural food industry's highest honors.
Farmhouse Culture remains one of the great adventures of my professional life. I left the company in 2020, deeply proud of what our team accomplished and grateful to everyone who helped make it possible.
The years I spent researching traditional foodways shaped everything that came afterward. First came The Farmhouse Culture Guide to Fermenting, a bestselling, award-winning cookbook, and a TEDx talk that has been viewed more than 100,000 times. Years later, many of those same questions about culture, home, and the transmission of wisdom found a broader context in Hearthbroken: Reviving Homemade Care and Connection in the Age of AI.
Today, they continue to guide my work through The Sacred Table, a new project exploring the rituals and shared meals that have nourished families and communities across cultures for centuries.
TEDx Talk (2020)
My story of how a fascination with traditional fermentation became Farmhouse Culture.
