About Jenn

16240_316162740057_596857_nMy name is Jenn Knapp.I live in Chelsea, Maine and have lived in Maine for 19 years.

I am a self-taught cook and have been honing my culinary skills for 15 years now. I have always been a food-lover and and wildly passionate about learning new techniques, finding unique ingredients, and discovering new recipes.

My inspiration for cooking often are seasonally driven. In the summer, I love to peruse the farmers markets, searching for the freshest and most beautiful ingredients. In the fall, I enjoy fall festivals with food, music, beer, and hand-crafted items for sale. Winter is a time for me to create warm cozy meals and holiday specialties.

I am one of those crazy people who start grilling as soon as the ice thaws in the spring and continues to do so almost every single night until winter starts again.

As a stay-at-home mom of two kids, a 6-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son, I am also continually trying to make unique and healthy dishes that my picky eaters will gobble up. This, as many of you know, is an ongoing battle, but I am proud to say that I am raising two adventurous eaters. In September of 2013, I launched my food blog at mysaltykitchen.com.

My website is broken down into two distinct parts: One is dedicated to my recipes. I am continually updating this section and on average, I add 2-3 new recipes per week. My aim is to empower people into believing that they too can cook. I have no interest in being intimidating with my ingredients, techniques, or concepts. When I realized that I could cook, as long as I simply had fun and trusted myself, it was wonderful. I want people to be successful and be able to trust my recipes. I have been working on them for many years and have flushed out the nonsense and overly difficult. Cooking should be fun, not fussy.

The other section is dedicated to blog posts. This is where I talk about people, places, and events that have inspired new recipes. This is where I give shout-outs to local businesses who’s quality products inspire me. I take pride in working with local businesses whenever I can to support them and get the word out to people about their quality products.

Basically, I am food-obsessed. I love reading, learning, and talking about food. I get a great sense of joy out of creating dishes for friends and family and getting to share in their experience of enjoyment. I catered my own wedding (yes, I know that is crazy), and have catered other weddings as well. I very much enjoy being able to create an atmosphere with food, and have endless ideas and concepts, which is why I think I enjoy catering so much.

Julia Child once said “Until I discovered cooking, I was never really interested in anything.” This really resonates with me. My passion for food and cooking is what truly drives me and ultimately fulfills me.