Faculty
Joanne Saltzman
Through her own healing process, Joanne was given a systematic way to teach how people cook intuitively. A former dancer/choreographer and mother of four, she has integrated the art of daily cooking with healing food. A pioneer in the personal chef and natural health movement, Joanne brings more than 35 years of experience and knowledge. She is the founder/director of The School of Natural Cookery and author of the books Amazing Grains, Romancing The Bean, and Intuitive Cooking From The School of Natural Cookery.
Joanne is a resource for several magazines including: The natural food industry's Delicious Living, Natural Health, Natural Home, Natural Living and Yoga Journal; She has formulated recipes, products, and programs for Alfalfa's, Wild Oats, and Whole Foods Markets; Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco, Fiona's Natural Food Company, and Quinoa Corporation. She has been keynote speaker at Bastyr University and her culinary program for the home-cook has been a central part of the Puget Sound Community Co-ops since 1993.
Mike Duhon
Michael Duhon is an artist who combines his expertise in both architecture and cooking, taking his students to new culinary and artistic heights. He has worked for thirty years as an interior architect. Nearly fifteen years ago he decided to pursue his greatest passion, cooking. He is an SNC alumni, and has degrees from the Écoles Grégoire-Ferrandi in Paris (one of the top culinary institutes in France), La Escuela de Hosteleria y Turismo in Valencia, Spain, and Heartwood Institute's Asian Healing Arts in California. He is a certified chef with a passion for blending classical culinary forms in an artistic presentation with vegan cuisine.
"Well designed space and well designed dishes involve similar design components such as form, color, texture and visual rhythm. Of course, in cooking, we add depth of flavor."
He teaches dessert fundamentals, gastronomy and performance dinner.
Susan Jane Cheney
Susan earned degrees in Child Development and Early Childhood Education and invariably incorporated her fascination with food and its preparation into her work with young children. A former member of the Moosewood Collective, she is the author of the books Breadtime and Stir Crazy! and has written extensively for Vegetarian Times Magazine and other publications. Susan draws upon over 30 years of experience with natural foods cooking and baking to teach the bread course with mastery, delicate finesse and precision. Her primary goal is to dispel the mystery - but none of the magic - of baking with live leavens. Drawing on both science and art, the course includes a comprehensive exploration of whole-grain formulas and forms and demonstrates how to make breads the foundation of - rather than merely accessories - to healthful meals.
Maia Cunningham
Maia completed the Pro Course and personal chef training at age 19 in 1995. Following graduation she moved to the island of Maui and worked with a catering company and as a personal chef. "I learned how different my culinary education had been from my classically trained peers."
When she returned to Colorado she built a weekly client load of 10 per week. Most of her clients ate some form of animal protein and so she started to see "the language" emerge in every new request for meals from around the world. She has worked with many clients who have very specialized diets ranging from highly allergic to high protein and families with many different needs under the same roof. " It is so gratifying to see them be able to eat and enjoy food they thought they could never eat again. The most rewarding experience though, is to watch students start to understand this amazing, liberating, process we teach. I am grateful to be a part of it."
Maia teaches in the Foundation Course, The Personal Chef and Teacher Training. She has developed a Protein Focus course to integrate animal proteins in the language of cooking.
Tyua Sereda
Tyua (pronounced Tie-uh) Sereda teaches the living foods section at SNC. She began working with living foods in 1998, and has taught living foods classes in her community since 2002. She has brought together her personal chef and restaurant experience to create a unique program for SNC students. Her course focuses on the fundamentals of living foods and how to create sophisticated, vibrant live dishes using the language of SNC.
Tyua resides in her birthplace of Hawaii, where diverse cultures, flavors and abundant tropical produce influence her culinary style. She is a 2001 graduate of SNC, and has been a personal chef, restaurant and cookbook consultant and natural foods instructor. Most recently, she has been a mom and personal chef/assistant to Luke, age 15 months.
Steve Gagne
Steve is an independent investigator/researcher as well as one of the most versatile and experienced teachers in whole foods education. Steve brings a lively innovative intelligence to his work and for more than twenty five years he has extended his teaching throughout America and Europe. His many years of research into traditional diets along with his travel adventures to remote parts of the world to experience and explore ancient traditions have justly earned him a reputation as one of the most progressive, popular and informed wholistic educators in the country. While well known for his knowledge of many areas of wholistic studies and alternative history, Steve is especially acknowledged as an expert and pioneer in Food Energetics - where ancient wisdom and dietary traditions merge with modern perspectives and breakthrough research in the field of nutritional science.
As an instructor at the Kushi Institute during its formative years in Brookline, Massachusettes, Steve taught all of the subjects associated with macrobiotic education. He was on the teaching staff of the Institute's extension programs and teacher qualification board that certified graduate students from all over the world.
As a health practicioner Steve has couselled thousands of individuals on personal health and well being.
For 20 years Steve has taught classes in diet and nutrition at University continuing education programs throughout the United States. In the early 80s he joined the curriculum at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado where he introduced a course called Oriental Medicine and Natural Healing. Currently, Steve teaches for numerous heatlh and nutrition related organizations and cooking schools.
Steve is the author of the book "Food Energetics." He lives in Colorado and can be reached at steve@stevegagne.com
