Our Chef and Owner....
Kristen is driven by her love of food. Beginning as a child with a dream of owning an ice cream truck, her love of food grew into a love of cooking while she was studying fitness and nutrition at San Francisco State University and working as the Operations Manager at a gym in Oakland.
Always active with a love of working out, she had always seen firsthand how much good food fueled her life and the lives of the people she loves. Kristen began as a child, watching her mom make spaghetti for family dinners and her grandma make her famous onion dip every Christmas Eve, and she saw how these dishes not only filled people’s stomachs but also their whole selves. She went on to feed firefighters in the New Mexico & Arizona mountains, volunteer at music festivals around the country, as well as giving her time to local food charities like Project Open Hand.
Kristen believes in the power of food. She sees how food can empower and excite people, as well as how it can bring people together. She also believes that food can tell a story, and that people’s cultures, identities, and own stories are reflected in the food they eat. Kristen strives to have every dish she makes tell a story, and connect with the person whose plate it is on.
She also believes in sustainability and takes into account the effect that each plate has on the environment. Kristen only uses reusable, sustainable and compostable products. She also uses locally sourced and organic ingredients and all meat is humanely raised. Kristen also strives to hire and work with members of the community she lives in, and supports BIPOC farmers, bakeries, and other vendors.
A Fork in the Road came after Kristen eventually changed her initial course of study at SF State to Hospitality Management and after serving, bartending and managing in different restaurants around the Bay Area. She went back to school to receive both her Culinary Arts Degree and her Certificate in Baking & Pastry and has cooked under incredible talent at well known places including Angele Restaurant & Bar in Napa, Pizzeria Delfina in San Francisco, and Jessica Lasky Catering in Oakland.
Along with her love of food, Kristen enjoys CrossFit, hiking in the Oakland Hills with her two dogs, trying to channel her grandfather’s green thumb in her garden, and annoying her wife with constant house projects. She is a long time Oaklander and currently lives in East Oakland with her wife, son, and two dogs
