For someone who can barely draw a stick figure, you can say this is my form of artistic expression. I started cooking when I was 7 because it looked fun, and it was. I always wanted to understand ‘how to eat healthy’, everyone was talking about it, but no one really knew how to do it. I was a child subject to the 90s sugar-crazed TV adds playing on a loop while watching cartoons. It’s sad to think how targeted kids were/are, but that is an entirely different soap box. Back then our food pyramid was a joke, and frankly still is. Medical experts are only now issuing warnings on sugar consumption and its addictive nature, something I have known for over a decade. I was an unusual kid, the one that would host dinner parties with her friends instead of throwing a massive party while her parents were out of town. Safe to say the folks rarely had anything to worry about in that realm. One day, 17-year-old me was looking for ways to get healthier, and I asked myself: what are a few small changes I can make to accomplish that? After much research, I switched to whole grains and started watching all forms of sugar I was ingesting. According to the American Heart Association for daily sugar recommendations, men should not consume more than 36 grams while women 25- most Americans on average consume 71 grams. To put things into perspective, just one soda has an average of 30-40 grams! That was the start and I quickly realized how much sugar is in everything and how confusing ingredients on food labels are (another disservice to consumers). Understanding food is hard let alone adapting a lifestyle to support it in a country inundated by excess. With that, a lifestyle was born.

After months of this, I started feeling better, alive or awake (hence the conscious part in conscious chef). Then I started to work out, I swore I never wanted to and thought it was boring. But I found myself enjoying it and running a mile every night. One mile turned to two, then I switched gears to yoga that helped foster my love for intentional movement focusing on the mind muscle connection. Although I am an out of practice yogi, it is called a practice for a reason. Now I am Peloton-er, I ride every day and you can follow me if you want to call my bluff: its_britt_betch. I’ve had the bike since COVID and am very thankful for the community and motivational word vomit it has provided. Every day I ask, what can I eat to better fuel this ride? What combinations can I try to help achieve a PR? What food has the most nutrition for recovery efforts? It’s an evolving art, like much of life. I believe food is fuel, I also believe why does flavor need to be sacrificed to make something ‘healthy’?

I feel like America has become disconnected with food in a way that creates a culture of overindulgence and overconsumption. When I traveled internationally, something I have not done a lot of and need to do more of, the food in other countries was so much better. Better at every level, like a tomato tasted different, a certain fresh quality that the American food industry has lost touch with because of the mass commercialization of food. To America, it’s not about food or how nutritious it is, it’s a business- but hey that’s capitalism for you.

So that’s where it started and here is where it’s going- I have continued cooking through the years evolving, fusing, and innovating. I have been fortunate to come across many shared family recipes which I have adopted as my own and fused with others. But- all the while making it as healthy as I can without sacrificing flavor. It’s easy to make food good by throwing butter in it, it’s not easy questioning each ingredient’s integrity and finding alternatives that better support my lifestyle.

What to expect?

Recently I’ve had an enormous life change, a change that is now forcing me to question every aspect of my life and future. Though it has been difficult, I have leaned on creating food more this past year. Throughout this, I have learned and accepted that some things in life are not meant to work out, and guess what- that is 100% ok. Stay true to who you are, another soap box moment, I digress. Cooking has brought me joy and why not share it? By day I run a business and by night I run a kitchen with the hard-working staff of one.

I love fine dining, arguably, art at its finest. Pictures and other things are cool, but you can’t eat those, they are not tangible- just items you admire for the sheer skill of how it was created. I have eaten many 5, 8, 12 course meals and have been blown away by technique and presentation. To make it easier, I live in Vegas so it’s too convenient to find incredible food, let’s just say my wallet isn’t as much of a fan. I admire the work the culinary staff does to put that plate in front of me. I once had a dish that was served with ‘aromatics’ to smell while we ate the course. A lot may say it’s ‘extra’ but that move was intentional and the Chef believed it would enhance the experience of the dish. If that’s the kind of food you want, you are not going to find it here, but I will gladly share and recommend experiences, my Yelp page has captured many and I will continue to share more. For me, I do not dine somewhere or order something that I know I can cook and it will be better and healthier. I look for the ‘spots’, whether that be a hole in the wall place with the best sandwich (High Street Deli, San Luis Obispo CA) or a fancy dining experience. What to expect here: the classics, the foreign, and the fused. Food with health and flavor equally leading the way and not overly complicated.

Food has an uncanny way of connecting people. Every house I have lived in or visited the kitchen is where everyone gathers, regardless of the size and amount of people. The kitchen has always been a special place for me, and I humbly invite you to mine.

Welcome to my blog all about food, cold wine is in the fridge, pour yourself a glass and let’s get creating.

Namaste,

The Conscious Chef