Hello! I am a professional photographer, food stylist, recipe developer, writer, and cook. I am also a champion of good food. Over years of great food shared with people doing it right, my understanding of what "fresh" meant transformed. During years spent in the deep south, I connected with small farmers growing amazing foods. There I gained a firsthand appreciation of how hard they work, and grew a keener awareness to what the freshest food looks and tastes like. I'd go out to farms and cut my own heads of cauliflower, harvest the juiciest and sweetest tomatoes, clip peppery and tender greens - and my favorite - exchange all my scraps for eggs laid by happy chickens. It is invaluable to get kids excited about food and empower them to make creations of their own. I share culinary basics and expert tips throughout Kid Chef, so that we can all eat well. In so doing, perhaps kids - and grownups, too - will fall in love with food in a way we might not have before. I am a regular contributor to the New York Times Food section, I produce columns with Food52, Sweet Paul Magazine, Garden & Gun, and Where Women Cook, amongst others. For my latest adventures in food, follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/melinahammer/, and visit my blog, http://LickingthePlate.com.