Luke Burnett
Luke grew up in rural western Massachusetts, where he enjoyed the country lifestyle; especially the family vegetable garden. One of his first jobs was working in a kitchen and his passion for cooking fell in place soon after. He became a curious home chef, experimenting by throwing dinner parties for friends and family. After his first summer spent in the Gorge working at Celilo, he realized how vast and inspiring the bounty of the West Coast is.
The dumplings in China Town, in Chicago, first alerted Luke to the fact that exotic flavors and textures existed in the world. To this day he is working on his version of the perfect dumpling.
Luke is working towards obtaining his Master Level Nutrition Consultant Certification, for which he will be board certified. This intensive Master Level Certification includes: Sports Nutrition, Weight Management, Nutrition Consulting, and Holistic Nutrition. He recently obtained his Nutrition & Wellness Consulting Certification, and looks forward to continuing understanding the important science of how food impacts our health.
Rachel Kaufer
After her first job working for the premier catering company in her hometown of South Lake Tahoe, California, Rachel observed how much joy good food and inviting ambiance brings to people. She has dined in restaurants around the world, always searching to expand her palette. The search for regional and seasonal cuisine led her to working on a small organic farm in Mosier, Oregon, where she knew she wanted to celebrate the seasons by gathering others around a table.
Rachel’s first food memory was being asked to go pull some carrots for dinner; her parents cultivated a small garden in the unforgiving granite soil. She remembers how the vibrant orange and green vegetable couldn’t possibly look more enticing.
Rachel recently obtained her Permaculture Design Certificate from Oregon State University. Permaculture is the study of Permanent Agriculture, and encompasses restorative, sustainable landscaping practices. Someday, Rachel hopes to use this knowledge to plan for their own property, and create a ‘Garden of Eating’ so that Luke and her have access to the most local, most seasonal food possible.
ORIGINS
Luke and Rachel met in the kitchen.
Their paths crossed just days after they both had moved to the Hood River area in April 2018, in the kitchen at Celilo Restaurant. They were quick to realize that they liked each other almost as much as they liked everything to do with food. Their time was spent discussing whether they preferred lacinato or curly kale, crunchy or creamy peanut butter, what makes a good cookbook, and the theory behind making a perfectly flaky biscuit.