The Kitchen Garden is a catering company designed for conscientious people who lead busy lives. It’s for people who have a strong desire to protect and nourish the environment and the health of their bodies. It is for families who know the importance of sitting down together to enjoy real food– food that is at its absolute best because it’s eaten in season, is simply and lovingly prepared, and was grown, harvested and cooked right in the Portland area.
The Kitchen Garden provides you with an easy, affordable way to eat gourmet meals made entirely from scratch, using fresh ingredients from local farms. With help from a weekly share of organic produce from Laughing Stock Farm in Freeport, Maine, the Portland Farmer’s Markets, and the chef’s own kitchen garden, we do everything from formal four course dinners to one on one cooking lessons to our unique meal delivery service.
We believe:
- In eating food that is fresh, in season, and simply prepared
- In family traditions
- In eating at a table with people you love, with the good plates, real silverware and cloth napkins
- In vibrant color and taste
- In dinner being your favorite time of the day– not a chore, not one more thing you have to do, but the thing you cherish most
About the Chef
Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, gardening and home cooking were a way of life. The sound and spray of the first buttery bite into an ear of corn, the unbeatable aroma of an apple crisp bubbling in the oven, and the simple joy that comes from popping bright red cherry tomatoes straight from vine to mouth are some of Cody’s favorite childhood food memories.
After graduating from Penn State University in 2003, Cody honed her cooking skills in professional kitchens in Jackson, Wyoming. In 2007 she sought a formal culinary education at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in Manhattan. While in school she did both large-scale catering with an event company as well as small cocktail and private dinner parties. She interned at The Sylvia Center, a nonprofit organization aimed at teaching healthy cooking and healthy eating to school-aged children in New York City. In 2008 she moved from New York to Burlington, Vermont where she worked as the chef at The Lang House, an eleven-room bed and breakfast, where she proudly served gourmet breakfasts and brunches made from fine Vermont products.
In the summer of 2009 Cody arrived in Portland, Maine where she looks forward to building a strong and lasting relationship with Maine’s growers, harvesters, and eaters.
