Kitchen Curative

Andrew Johnson

I have over three decades of knowledge working in and around professional kitchens, higher education, healthcare and local farms. Most of my time I operate a personal chef and dietitian business, Kitchen Curative. I provide custom, in-home and delivered meal services, catering, cooking classes. I am the Culinary Medicine Chef for MaxLove Project - teaching cooking classes for cancer survivor families and developing recipes and other culinary content for several platforms. Also employed as a chef in residence for The Ecology Center - cooking farm to table for the 28 acre certified organic farm. Recently I was the Executive Chef and Co-founder of The Meal Prep - offering healthy meal delivery services to OC & LA. and managing/teaching urban agriculture with the City of Irvine's Great Park @ the Farm + Food Lab. My previous roles include: Director & Culinary Instructor at the International Culinary School, Executive Sous Chef of a multi-unit hospital/health system and Food & Beverage Director of an assisted living community and Regional Food & Beverage Director for a golf club.

From an education perspective: I am a certified Master Food Preserver from University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources - teaching food preservation techniques to the communities of Orange County, I have a masters degree in business administration - with a focus in sustainability, a bachelors degree in hospitality management and an associates degree in culinary arts. I also carry certificates as Servsafe manager/instructor/proctor, member of the American Culinary Federation and certified HACCP manager and aquaponics.

I am a compliant type 1 diabetic, diagnosed at an early age - successfully managing my disease through healthy food choices and active lifestyle. As a champion for my own personal wellness needs, organically I have gravitated to professional roles where I can thrive at the intersection of food, education and wellness. I believe in growing our own food, choosing local food producers and the holistic concept of foods as medicine.