Lauren Chandler Cooks

I am a plant-centered chef educator and recipe developer and I’ve been getting people hooked on cooking and eating well for more than two decades. I create recipes and teach groups in person and virtually from my sweet little chef's cottage in Portland, OR.

Businesses and nonprofits hire me to teach their clients and employees so they can feel good, get sick less, think more clearly, and have more energy - at work and at home. My classes are a fun and engaging team building experience where people learn to cook amazing food that supports their physical and mental health. (And of course, planetary health!) My teaching style is casual and interactive and my students say I am creative, approachable, and inspiring.

I love teaching everyone - we all can benefit from eating more plants! Youth aging out of foster care, retired union plumbers, employees at companies big and small...they're all my students. Additionally, as faculty at the National University of Natural Medicine, I developed and taught culinary classes to future healthcare providers.

When I’m not teaching, I'm equally in the zone behind the scenes developing vibrant, enticing, easy to follow recipes and content. Clients include USA Pulses, Oregon Orchard (hazelnuts), FINEX Cast Iron Cookware, The Teff Company, Corto Olive Oil.

I graduated from the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health & Culinary Arts and also learned about cooking and food as medicine when I kitchen hopped around the world on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. My culinary knowledge and skills leveled up at Café Boulud, The James Beard House, Marché and Casablanca (under the incredible talent Ana Sortun).

I have an MSW and I often wear that hat to support my students. Volunteering in the kitchen at organizations like the Blanchet House and through World Central Kitchen are other ways I put my skills to use. Lemons, mochi, pizza!