Wendy Cook
Posted on Thu, Jun 04, 2009
I was at Emerson College during the period of 1975-80 doing the Foundation Year and then helping to run the kitchen. At the time, the kitchen hosted a catering course. The kitchen was a lively place - full of abundance. In the intervening years, inspired by Francis Edmunds and John Davy, and the Biodynamic work, a group of us started an initiative on a 60 acre mountain farm in Mallorca, teaching life skills. This demonstrated to me the importance of people doing land-based activities, baking bread in a wood oven, gardening, cooking and eating together. Many good things came from this and despite difficulties; seeds were planted for the future.
Subsequently, I returned to Devon, studying at Schumacher College, obtaining a degree in Waldorf Education and writing three books, two of which deal with nutrition, cooking and the importance of Biodynamics to heal the earth. This has brought me many invitations to travel and speak about this unsung topic.
I have returned to Emerson for a brief period to see whether it will be possible to develop a cooking and nutrition course here. It feels like new initiatives like this are needed in the world and could possibly flourish in the new vision of Emerson College.