What Are You Hungry For?

Join Julia Cushing, author of "Julia's Colorful Day", Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and AtoZ Culinary Educator in an engaging talk about kids and their emotions. We discuss the role of play in children's lives, the concept of adultism, and advice on regulation of emotions.

In Eps. 35 of AtoZ Cooking School's podcast What Are You Hungry For? Executive Director, Nancy Martz, chats with Veronica Gallardo. Veronica is one of our rockstar board members. With a strong background in education, Veronica explains how the lessons and activities we teach our students have impacts far beyond the kitchen. 

In Ep. 34 of AtoZ Cooking School's podcast What Are You Hungry For? Executive Director, Nancy Martz, chats with Sonam Samat . Sonam recently left her job at Google, and is heading back to India with her family, where she plans to open a cooking school! We talk about schools in India v. schools in the US,  naan v. roti, and our favorite recipes.

Join us for a conversation with Matt Kettmann -- senior editor for the Santa Barbara Independent and a contributing editor for Wine Enthusiast. He is the author of Vines & Vision: The Winemakers of Santa Barbara County.  Join us and learn how a quirk in his Isla Vista lease is the reason he lives in Santa Barbara and not the Bay Area. We also discusss synthetic corks and answer the age-old que...

Anna-Katharina Preidl (AK to her friends) is working to decipher the nanosphere world and predict how things will behave in our world.  She is studying Materials Science and Engineering at a school in the Bay Area (that's code for Stanford.) She loves to bake and cook and eat good food.  AK and Nancy met when AK was in high school and volunteered in the classes that Nancy was teaching at her...

If you love good food, good wine and good vibes, you need to know Emma West! Emma is the owner/operator of Satellite Restaurant and Natural Wine Shop in downtown Santa Barbara. She is obsessed with hospitality, the SB Farmers Market, and eating. Did we mention that Satellite is vegetarian? You just can't go wrong. If you want to discover the food book (it's not a cookbook) that we gushed...

Dr. Jennifer Watson has a PhD in Hospitality from MSU Denver. She and Nancy met when they were slicing onions at the Culinary Institute of America during the Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives conference and an instant kinship was forged! Dr. Jennifer spent a week in Santa Barbara, helping out with summer camp and sharing ideas about how to engage more people in cooking, eating and sharing time togeth...

Meet Donna Yen,  Executive Director of The Santa Barbara Culinary Experience, in partnership with The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts. Its mission is to shine a light on Santa Barbara’s local culinary, hospitality, tourism, artisan and small business communities. Donna and Nancy talk about some of their favorite things:  The Cultured Abalone , Biddy Sticks ,  the Cherry...

Meet Ben Caputo, one of our summer teen staff members. Ben is one of those young men who says, "What can I do next?" or "Would you like me to wash the dishes, mop the floor and take out the trash?" Yes, please! He's also a fan favorite of the campers because he knows how to bring the fun. We are lucky to have him on our team.

Meet Luc Powers, one of our teen summer staff superstars! Luc is a counselor and brings mad skills to AtoZ. From chalk drawing to yoga, lawn games to art projects, Luc's leadership and creativity have brought our summer camp to the next level!

In Eps. 25 of AtoZ Cooking School's podcast What Are You Hungry For? Guest Host and AtoZ Board Member Deb Bettencourt turns the table and interviews Executive Director, Nancy Martz. Find out what inspired Nancy to embark on this grand adventure, and also learn what her favorite dessert is!

P.A Tremblay is a masterful chef, and the Culinary Director at Santa Barbara Middle School.  He uses food create community and help people be part of something meaningful.  At Middle School, his program isn't just about food -- it's about nourishing and nurturing his students, and teaching them to be stewards of the Earth. 

Meet Diana O'Connell, Executive Director of Veggie Rescue. Her organization gathers not only veggies and fruits, but groceries that would otherwise end up in the landfill.  www.veggierescue.org

In Eps. 23 of AtoZ Cooking School's podcast What Are You Hungry For? Executive Director, Nancy Martz, chats with Jill Barton, AtoZ's Senior Culinary Educator.  Among the giggles and laughter, you'll hear from the person who keeps the kitchen running like a tight ship. Did we mention that Jill is Swiss, and used to work in the kitchens of boats?  Of course she runs a tight ship!

Rachael Steidl is the founder and Executive Director of YouthWell and launched the Community Collaborative in order to focus on prevention and early intervention efforts around mental health in Santa Barbara County. In this engaging conversation, Rachael and Nancy discuss mental illness versus mental health, and how mental illness and mental health challenges are "invisible illnesses." S...

Fiona Maloney-McCrystle and Annie Makela are with the  Scott Center for Social Entrepreneurship  at the Hillbrook School in Los Gatos, CA. They brought a group of middle school students to Santa Barbara as part of a road trip to study farms, food, fashion and more. On their visit to our fair city, the students learned about sustainable fishing practices from the Santa Barbara Fish Market, and then...

Shakira is the Executive Director of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network ( www.sbcfan.org ), which is devoted to building a more resilient food network for our community. In this moving conversation, we kept coming back to interconnectedness -- of people, groups, ideas and movements. Shakira states that "Community moves at the speed of trust." If we want to move fast and far, we...

If you ever get confused at the fish counter, this podcast is for you! Paco and Gaby are brother and sister, and they work at the Santa Barbara Fish Market. We talk about our favorite seafood (there's more than fish on that list!), as well as our favorite ways to prepare many of them.  This conversation was a rollicking good time. Go to the Fish Market for more fun and lots of fishy advice!

Gerri French is a nutrition educator who is passionate about connecting people with their food -- where it comes from, how it makes them feel, and how it can bring us together. Join her Food and Farm Meetup? https://www.meetup.com/Santa-Barbara-Food-and-Farm-Adventures/?_cookie-check=oXcr-f1xJicRVWwI

Stephen Carter is the Director of Entrepreneurship and Sustainability at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio. He oversees four student-run businesses with an emphasis on horticulture and culinary arts. We talked about many things, but what stays with me is the "metaphor of growth" -- we are all growing, learning, evolving, just as we hope that everything in our garden...

Kathi King,  from the Community Environmental Council, and Nancy talked about how little actions have a big impact. The choices we make every day can add up to meaningful change. They also discuss their favorite second-hand stores in Santa Barbara!

Nancy Martz, Jeff King, Erin Presant and Katie Kinsella atteneded the Healthy Kitchens Healthy Lives conference in Napa. Co-hosted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Medicine, this annual conference unites medical practitioners who want to learn how to teach their patients how to cook, with culinary educators who want to teach their students why nutrition is so important. Nancy, Jeff, Erin...

Lexi is a recent transplant to Santa Barbara, where she works for the County Public Health Department. Prior to her cross-country move, she was the founder of Avaca’do -- making plant-based pudding. She tells us about the challenges of entering the world of food products!

Enjoy this conversation with Tina Wood, Certified Nutrition Educator and author of Baby Bistro and Toddler Bistro. Hear how Tina's degree in Political Science (from UCSB -- just like Nancy) helps her navigate food policy.

Do you love snacks, but hate plastics? Then you'll love Sun & Swell Foods! They have amazing snacks and pantry items -- all packaged in truly compostable packaging. Enjoy this lively conversation and hear what it takes to source good food from near and far.