Goosefoot Cook & Grow was created to celebrate the nourishing bounty of this place, re-connect people to what’s edible in the landscape, encourage community, and deepen our collective relationship with nature.
Native American communities throughout the Ohio River Valley region consider goosefoot an essential food source. The leaves are nutrient-dense, and their seed pods, similar to their South American cousin quinoa, are protein-packed and plentiful. Over time, however, identifying regional plants has been systematically eliminated.
For our founder, Chef Maggie, one of the most exciting parts of moving back to her childhood home has been discovering plants that are indigenous to this area. One night she had a dream about a plant native to Ohio, called lamb’s quarters or goosefoot. Through Goosefoot Cook and Grow, Chef Maggie and her team aim to continue building a relationship with the natural world through food and sharing that experience with their clients and community at large.
FOUNDER
Chef Maggie
Chef Maggie is a visual artist and has been a culinary professional for over 17 years. After moving back from Oakland, CA in 2020, she is excited to participate in Cincinnati’s growing food and small-scale farming scene. Maggie is passionate about social justice, healing for herself and her community, and bringing more beauty into the world through art and food. She speaks fluent French and Spanish and loves being in the mountains and swimming in hot springs.
LEAD CHEF
Chef Katie
Chef Katie was born and raised in Cleveland, but moved to Cincinnati to attend culinary school and work in the farm-to-table scene here. She’s been fortunate to spend time cooking and farming in France, Martinique, and Morocco, but proudly calls the Ohio Valley home now. Due to her experience in organic farming, she is passionate about reducing waste and getting creative to use all parts of the ingredients in the kitchen. When she’s not cooking, Katie loves to watch soccer, practice guitar and piano, and forage for mushrooms with her partner and daughter.
ASSISTANT CHEF
Chef Liv
Born and raised in Cincy, Chef Liv has been working in the culinary industry for 8 years. She is known for her knowledge of plant-based foods and is passionate about using cooking as a form of meditation. In addition, she is a mental health and human rights advocate and mother to a beautiful daughter. If you’re lucky, maybe she’ll sing for you: Liv trained for 10 years with a professional opera singer.
DINNER PARTY CHEF
Anna Grace
Born in The Hague, Netherlands to diplomats, Chef Anna Grace has lived all over the world and has been in Cincinnati for the last 18 years. She graduated from The Midwest Culinary Institute in 2014 and since time has worked in kitchens as both a baker and a chef. Her favorite tool in the kitchen is a paring knife because they are so useful. Some of her best food memories are of her grandmother and mom standing over the kitchen sink peeling apples with a paring knife so they could make apple pie together.
PREP COOK
Helen
Helen is a jack-of-all-trades and designated Goosefoot dessert maker. She is passionate about food, nature and caring for her 75+ houseplants. She loves being part of a small team of women she respects and cooking delicious seasonal, local food in a healthy and sustainable way. Growing up, she loved helping her mom in the kitchen and pretending to be French chefs with their own cooking show. On her days off, you can find her spending time outdoors, listening to live music, and finding the final missing piece to all the puzzles.
PREP COOK
Ashley
Prep cook Ashley is a Cincinnati native with a decade of experience cooking, including her first job and trial by fire, preparing food for 150 people everyday at a local daycare. She is known for her quiet demeanor in the kitchen which means she is very thoughtful and detail oriented. She looks up to Alton Brown because of vivid childhood memories of watching him at all hours with her dad and she also loves his deep dive into the science of cooking. Her favorite thing to do outside work is listen to true crime podcasts.
DELIVERY DRIVER
Sarah
A Cincinnati native, Sarah appreciates the city for its historic buildings and neighborhoods, as well its vibrant arts & foodie scene. She has spent 4+ years in the culinary industry and is known in the kitchen for her quick wit, subtle sarcasm and dedication to quality. Beyond the kitchen, her hobbies include scouring thrift stores for hidden treasures, traveling, and interior decorating.
LEAD ADMIN
Diane
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Diane has worked in administration in the arts and culinary fields for her entire career. As a vegetarian, she appreciates being a part of a team that focuses on health-conscious eating and sustainable living. She is a level one Sommelier and enjoys discovering new wines at local wine tastings and visiting wineries during her travels. In her free time, she loves to spend her time outdoors, hiking local trails and kayaking.
FARM PARTNER
ETC
Esteban and Toncia Chavez are the owners and operators of a family farm and shop, ETC Produce and Provisions. Their shop in historic Findlay Market is where you’ll find a wide assortment of farm-fresh produce from all over Ohio. They are lucky enough to have 68-acres of pasture, where they raise their 400+ free-range chickens without hormones, steroids, and antibiotics.
FARM PARTNER
Slaughter Family Farms
Justin and Melina Slaughter’s Shelby County, Kentucky farm started in 2018 as a quarter-acre backyard and has since moved to a full-fledged farm with over 6,000 chickens on pasture, 75 pigs in the woods, and a few hundred ducks. They are passionate about family and raising animals in a way that contributes to the ecosystem instead of extracting from it. They are always mindful to include their children in the exploration and care of a place that has so much life. It is important to Justin and Melina to work with chefs who are transparent about where they source their ingredients, who use their products as they were intended to be used, and do so without waste.
Where it all started…
Chef Maggie moved back to Cincinnati after spending 15 years in Oakland, CA building her personal chef brand, The Heirloom Chef.
After seven years of working with the company, Chef Erika Minkowsky became Co-owner, and they currently employ a talented team of personal chefs in the SF Bay Area.
We are honored to be sister companies, expanding our reach to serve fresh, seasonal fare.
“Eating is an agricultural act.”
– Wendell Berry
