Kirsten has been cooking in the backcountry of Alaska for more than twenty years. She is a Ethnic/American/General passionate culinary student, educator, and an avid gardener. Kirsten spends most of her time at Winterlake Lodge, where she frequently teaches cooking classes in the kitchen or gives tours of the herb garden. Kirsten attended culinary school at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and she holds a master's degree in gastronomy (food history) from Adelaide University in Australia. She has published several cookbooks, including this new second edition of The Winterlake Lodge Cookbook, and is currently working on a new book project. Kirsten completed an MFA program in creative writing at Goddard College, Vermont. Kirsten has written for and has been featured in many national and international publications.Kirsten won an award for "Best Female Chef USA" for The Winterlake Lodge Cookbook at the Gourmand International Cookbook Award in 2004.