“This was always something I said I wanted to do when I retired, so I could help others learn to be more confi dent in plant-based eating. Cooking is a form of love and a great way to connect with others,” she said. While she had years of experience in plant-based cooking, Kimberly decided to become a certifi ed vegan chef. She chose the Institute of Culinary Education for a 16-month program that she describes as “very intense,” with classes in all types of cooking methods and advanced techniques, knife skills, international, pastry, restaurant and catering skills, as well as deep diving in whole food plantbased cooking across all food types. It also had business courses for restaurant management. From Corporate America to Culinary Wellness: Kimberly Howard’s Plant-Based Path Interview by Ed Conn Written by Karen Gerhardinger When Kimberly Howard decided to retire from corporate America, she dove into a passion that was ignited by a book she read in the 1980s: Diet for New America. Now the Old West End resident has launched a new career as an independent chef, working with clients who want to make a sustainable change that will improve their health and wellness with a plant-forward lifestyle and stress management. With Green Path Wellness, Kimberly hopes to make an impact in Toledo. Diet for a New America explains the reasoning why a plant-based diet is better for the planet, for individuals’ health, for world hunger and for animals. “After reading that book, I was hooked. I raised all four of my kids that way, and my husband and I continue to eat plant based,” Kimberly said, noting that she cooks the same way for her extended family and in dinner parties with friends. “I loved the rigor of it and the fact it was an accredited culinary school since the ‘70s that just recently added a plant-based track,” Kimberly said. Each day included a lecture, cooking and creating recipes, building menus and writing lab reports. In all, she created about 10 recipes a week. The program also required an internship, and she worked at The Acorn in Vancouver, British Columbia. “It was incredible – a plant based, zero waste, locavore fi ne dining restaurant,” she said. Kimberly said her most challenging class was pastry, as she is gluten free and wanted to make all of the recipes both plant based and gluten free. “That is not easy, as there is a lot of science behind baking,” she said. “I had a lot of encouragement from my professors and classmates. Cooking is about testing theories and learning, with a lot of creativity. There were hits and misses, and as long as I was learning that was a key aspect of the journey.” After fi nishing cooking school, Kimberly did some training as a nutrition and health coach, with her ultimate goal to help others eat more plants. “I want to meet them where they are on their journey, and coach to build confi dence and knowledge. I also want to teach people how to cook plant based if that is their ultimate goal,” she said. When creating plant-based dishes, the ultimate goal is for the food to look, and taste, delicious, she said. In her day-to-day cooking, Kimberly focuses on templates, such as bowls, soups, pastas and salads, for example. In addition, she makes sure that Continue on next page Lydia Lambert-Bailey, Kimberly, and Miroslava Machalkova at Th e Acorn Page 9
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