Nicole Turney is the founder of Kid Kitchen. As an avid home cook and mom, she thought she had succeeded in raising a “good eater.” Then her daughter turned two and stopped eating all but a few foods. Five years later, Nicole founded Kid Kitchen with hopes of helping other parents of picky eaters have an easier time than she had. 

The first Kid Kitchen happened as a test when she brought fresh veggies and some scissors into her daughter’s first grade classroom to see if there would be any takers. It’s still hard to believe the response — almost every child happily chomped away and there were even kids who begged for a chance to try the veggies she saved for the end. What’s more, the classroom proved a far better place than home for exposing her own kid to vegetables. It felt like magic and a thing that definitely needed to continue.

Nicole has studied herbalism, botany, Ayurveda, and Chinese Medicine at Arbor Vitae School of Traditional Herbalism and is working towards a nutrition certificate with the International Integrative Educational Institute. From 2010–2014 she co-hosted Brooklyn Table, a monthly, sold-out supper club, cooking five-course meals featuring a range of global cuisines. Prior to that, she worked as a cookbook proofreader at Penguin Random House. Her teaching experience includes working as a percussion and drumline instructor in public schools as well as working with kindergarteners as part of her linguistics degree at the University of Michigan. She has also studied the education philosophy of Maria Montessori and believes in the value of child-led learning.

Aside from her adventures in education and food, Nicole has worked for over a decade as a film editor. She is based in Brooklyn, NY.