Susan Chiappini, PhD is a passionate home cook who loves sharing her kitchen knowledge with others and has taught cooking classes in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New York State. She has studied human physiology and nutrition at the Medical College of Virginia, and Columbia University and she is certified as a Master Food Preserver through Cornell Co-operative Extension. Susan works seasonally as the farm kitchen supervisor at Montgomery Place Orchards, Red Hook, NY in the summer and spends Winter stitching quilts for family, friends and retail. In her spare time Susan enjoys sewing, hiking and foraging for mushrooms here in the Hudson Valley. She and her husband make their home in Rhinebeck, NY; their four grown children are scattered across the country.