Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Patrin.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in NE Minneapolis and our family gatherings were always very food centric. My Grandpa Don on my mother’s side ran an Italian deli with his brothers called Delmonico’s. As a child, I visited the deli frequently and as an adult, those nostalgic recollections are still very much a part of my life. They continue to inspire my passion for food and the many ways that nourishing those we love fulfills us. I graduated from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN and I am a registered nurse by trade. I was employed at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis for approximately 10 years. They included working in the role of staff ICU nurse, assistant head nurse of the Medical Intensive Care, and as an ICU float nurse. My husband John and I moved to northern California when our first child, Joshua, was 10 months old. Our second son, Nicholas was born during the two years that we lived there.
While residing in CA, I was at home full time and had more opportunities to experiment with cooking and recipes. My first culinary magazine subscriptions were to Bon Appetit magazine and Food & Wine magazine. Delving into those publications inspired me to start experimenting more in the kitchen. I began writing some of my own recipes and creating food and wine pairings.
In 2006 I was one of four winners in an Emeril Lagasse chocolate recipe challenge. I flew to NYC and was a guest, along with the other contestants on his show at the Food Network Studios in Chelsea. During the same year, I was a participant in the Sargento Search For Kitchen Chronicles recipe contest at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in Napa Valley. While there I had the pleasure of cooking for Chef Michael Chiarello and Bon Appetit Editor Mara Papatheodorou. In 2007 I began working on a project to inspire food enthusiasts to expand their culinary knowledge. I created the Eat Your Words puzzle. It was geared towards helping others to learn about food and beverages in an educational and entertaining way. It ran weekly in the Taste section in the Minneapolis StarTribune for a few years.
I launched the Empty Nesters Kitchen Blog in 2018 after both of our children were away at college. I thought this was a great way to share the “empty nester” adventures, both in our home kitchen and globally, through travel and dining posts. What started as a food and travel blog has turned into a way for me to connect diners with where their food comes from. I currently share recipes utilizing locally sourced ingredients and I author farm to fork stories about sustainability issues and those that are deeply affected by them. This includes local farmers, restaurateurs and the communities they feed. In January of 2021, I decided to compile my puzzles into a book called Eat Your Words: 125 Food & Beverage Themed Puzzles for Hungry Minds. I self-published the book in October of 2021. My food journey has a long and winding one, with many interesting twists along the way. I plan to continue to lead with culinary curiosity and to continue to find as many routes as possible to share this exploration with others.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
While it hasn’t been a direct road, all of my experiences have contributed to where I am now. Self publishing a book was a unique learning challenge.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I addressed a lot of this in the first section. What I’m known for: People reach out to me regularly to inquire about and or share restaurant and cooking experiences because of my culinary background, and I love that.
I am proud of charting my own journey, this includes the launch of The Empty Nesters Kitchen blog and ultimately my culinary puzzle/The Eat Your Words book. Putting myself out there in these ways makes me feel vulnerable, but also excited about the possibilities. What also makes me extremely happy is that John, Josh, Nick and my extended family and friends have always been so supportive of my pursuits. I currently specialize in a lot of things, including spending time cooking and dining with friends and family, visiting farms, writing recipes and sustainability stories, and marketing my book. I am working on a second edition. I think what sets me apart is my unique path. There have been many extraordinary experiences and they have all intertwined to bring me to where I am today.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the Twin Cities and Minnesota as a whole! From the vast array of activities (we are avid leisure bikers and there are bike and walking paths galore) to the restaurants, museums, theaters and more. Growing up in MN, I have seen a lot of growth over the years. While I relish the opportunity to travel, and bring those global influences and experiences home to my own kitchen, at this point in my life I wouldn’t choose to live anywhere else. There really is no “like least”.
Pricing:
- The Eat Your Words Puzzle Book is $14.95
Contact Info:
- Email: lspatrin@gmail.com
- Website: www.emptynesterskitchen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emptynesterskitchen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emptynesterskitchen
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lpatrin
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1647044472
Image Credits
Lisa Patrin
