How did you become interested in this line of work? (tell us a little bit about your background)

The garden was my gateway to fermentation. I’ve always loved food, but have no formal background in culinary arts, food science, or microbiology. The first season I was gardening, I realized I had to learn how to make sauerkraut to preserve a bumper crop of cabbage. Then I learned to make yogurt and bake bread using sourdough. Years of personal obsession turned into a reputation and an invitation to teach at an annual event. That led me a small self-published zine, and only later to write a book, which led to a book tour that never really ended and morphed into my life as an itinerant fermentation educator, which I call being a fermentation revivalist.

Please share a wellness tip or word of advice that relates to the workshop you will be presenting.

Fermenting at home means always having fresh, delicious, probiotic treats at hand. The process actually takes very little time, but the resulting delicacies can enable us to make those meals on-the-go much more substantial and nourishing.

What or who inspires you? (This could be anything from your mentor to your favorite quote)

I am inspired by the ingenuity of ancestors everywhere who developed effective techniques for making such an incredible range of foods and beverages by creating conditions that effectively guide the development of microbial forms of life they did not even know existed.

What personal or professional accomplishments are you most proud of?

At this point I estimate that I have taught nearly 1000 fermentation workshops, in most of the states of the U.S. and provinces of Canada, as well as 25 other countries. My books have been translated into a dozen languages.

Recipes by Sandor Ellix Katz

Sauerkraut Recipe

Baechu (Cabbage) Kimchi Recipe