About Us

What's Cooking Weekly is an online menu planning service for healthy family meals.  It is a new division of What's Cooking, a Certified Green business that offers healthy cooking classes and gifts to children in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Michelle Stern, Founder and Owner of What's Cooking and What's Cooking Weekly

Michelle Stern, founder of What's Cooking, was a high school biology and environmental science teacher for 5 years prior to the birth of her daughter. At present, she balances the parenting of her two wonderful children and running this growing business.

Michelle's connections through What's Cooking have lead to a variety of wonderful and unexpected food-related events. She received a grant from Heifer International to participate on an Educator Study Tour to Honduras in the summer of 2007, where she learned about sustainable development and the prevention of hunger. She was invited to help her friends cater the Celebrity Poker Tournament at the 2006 Emmy Awards. She also assisted her colleague, Jennifer Carden, in food styling for a Thanksgiving-themed Satellite Media Tour for Food Network Star, Guy Fieri.  Most recently, she met Jacques Pepin, Mollie Katzen, and Ellie Krieger, all of whom love that her work brings families together into the kitchen.  They have given her permission to use their family friendly recipes in What's Cooking Weekly, Michelle's healthy menu planner for families.  Michelle also writes for several popular websites and blogs, such as Bostonmamas, Mommy Track'd and the WellFed Network, on topics related to cooking with children, family mealtimes and healthy menu planning.

Anne Porter-Roth, School Librarian, Avid Cook and What’s Cooking Weekly Intern

Anne has had a career as a librarian in a variety of settings. For the last fifteen years, she has been the Librarian at Marin Horizon School in Mill Valley, teaching students how to be skilled researchers. However, when she’s not teaching, reading or participating in various food blogs, she can be found in her kitchen cooking up more kinds of food then she can count. Fortunately, her husband, Bud, will eat pretty much everything (except brussel sprouts, eggplant, and blue cheese) as will her daughter Lizzie who is a very adventuresome vegetarian. Anne lies awake at night contemplating what to make for dinner the next day, and always checks out the local foods and markets when she travels.

Katherine Groppo, What's Cooking Weekly Data Entry Master and Elementary School Teacher

Katherine Groppo has five years of experience educating elementary children, and currently teaches a class of fifth graders in Palo Alto. She has had a love of food and cooking since childhood, and some of her earliest memories include sitting on the kitchen counter helping her mother mix chocolate chip cookie dough. She strives to incorporate this passion into classroom learning by creating social studies, literature, and math lessons that involve cooking.

Katherine is a firm believer in the importance of introducing children to highly nutritious, fun to make, and delicious to eat foods. She aims to help kids discover the delights of healthy eating and living.

She currently lives in San Francisco with her husband, new baby girl, and their cat.

Janet Dresser, Chef and Registered Nurse

Janet Dresser Janet Dresser is the owner of As You Like It catering, and is also an Independent Consultant with What's Cooking in Marin County. As a registered nurse, she is alert to the importance of eating well and eating smart. She believes in eating dishes made from organic products grown, raised and harvested by local purveyors.  She frequently consults with us on the recipes we use in What’s Cooking Weekly.

Jennifer Carden, Author, Chef and Food Stylist

Jennifer Carden is a chef, food stylist, and mother in the San Francisco Bay area. She has worked with some of the best chefs in the area including Jacques Pepin and Mollie Katzen, and has written and developed recipes for restaurants and major food companies nationwide.

Jennifer's innovative ideas and humorous slant on feeding children have led her to develop books and products that help parents to feed their children healthy, quick, uncomplicated food. She is a recipe contributor to The Healthy Baby Workbook, by Kimberly Rider by Chronicle Books.

Her new book, Toddler Cafe from Chronicle Books, will be released in 2008 and can be pre-ordered now on Amazon!