Hello and welcome! If you have questions about me, I’m Shay, the voice and heart behind A Kitchen of Herbs. This site is my invitation to you—to explore, learn, and rediscover the timeless magic that happens when we bring the garden into our kitchen.
It all started because I was tired of digging through mountains of notebook scribbles, faded recipe cards and bulky cooking manuals every time a friend texted, “Hey, what was that amazing waffle recipe again?”
As someone who loves efficiency and technology, it finally dawned on me: I could build a better way. This website is that better way. It’s my personal online recipe index, created to finally de-clutter my kitchen and make sharing recipes as easy as sending a link. The funny thing? I built it to make sharing with others easier, but somehow it became about me too, because I’ve become my own best user.
The story of why the recipes here are so simple, though? That is even more personal.
My culinary journey is actually a return to my roots, empowered by everything I learned along the way.
Table of Contents
About Me: A Foundation of Simple Cooking
I grew up in a rainforest with very little. Our food supplies were limited, arriving by tiny aircraft once a month. I learned to cook out of necessity, feeding a family with basic ingredients we could grow ourselves—tomatoes, peppers, and a lot of okra. We stretched expensive meat with beans and rice, and fruit was a luxury we often picked from trees, not a store.
This is where my foundation was laid: in making the most of what you have. Our one splurge was a tradition of “birthday pies,” which is why our family’s apple pie recipe remains a most-requested favorite. My roots were, and always will be in simple, homey and resourceful cooking.
A Pastry Chef’s Precision
After losing my job in 2008, I followed my passion for baking to culinary school. While I already knew how to cook, school gave me the missing piece: the why. I finally understood the chemistry behind the recipes I’d been puzzling over for years!
As a professional pastry chef, I was finally set free to fly. I crafted elaborate wedding cakes and perfected complex flavors, living for the details in a world where cost was no longer the primary constraint.
The Best of Both Worlds
Then I became a mom. Overnight, the world of intricate techniques collided with the realities of newborn life, sleep deprivation, and a single income. I was heading for burnout, trying to maintain a standard that no longer served my life.
Then I became a mom. Overnight, the world of intricate techniques collided with the realities of newborn life, sleep deprivation, and a single income. I was heading for burnout, trying to maintain a standard that no longer served my life.
My breakthrough came when I realized the solution was behind me, not in front of me. I didn’t need complexity; I needed to return to the resourcefulness of my roots, but this time armed with a chef’s understanding of flavor and technique.
I learned to merge my two selves:
- The resourceful home cook from my childhood, who knew how to make a little go a long way.
- The trained pastry chef, who understood how to build flavor and use techniques efficiently.
Now, I champion achievable, flavorful meals. I’ve learned to cut the corners that don’t matter—like blending whole cilantro stems instead of painstakingly plucking leaves. A meal packed with flavor from a handful of fresh herbs is a greater victory than a technically flawless but exhausting dish.
This site is the result of that homecoming. It’s a space free from food snobbery, dedicated to sharing the recipes and techniques that truly work—where simple ingredients, a deep understanding of herbs and spices, and a few chef’s secrets come together to make cooking a joy again.
This site is all about making sure dinner works for you too, by sharing what has worked for me.
Share Your Story
I would love to hear from you if my story resonated at all. Please feel free to drop me a quick note or share your own journey!
