Wild Flavors by Didi Emmons

Didi Emmons began cooking omelets when she was ten and had her own catering business by the age of fourteen. After earning a BS in food service management at NYU, serving as a stagiaire (apprentice) to La Varenne (cooking school) in Paris and opening several restaurants in the Boston area, she opened Haley House Bakery Cafe, a non-profit cafe in Roxbury, whose staff are people transitioning from homelessness and incarceration. She has since begun a program at Haley House Bakery Cafe, called Take Back the Kitchen, teaching Roxbury and Dorchester residents how to eat and cook healthfully.Her first book, Vegetarian Planet, was nominated for a James Beard Award. Her second book, Entertaining for a Veggie Planet, won the Best Book in the Healthy Category by the International Association of Cooking Professionals (formerly the Julia Child Award).

Emmons also serves as a trans fat consultant for the Boston Public Health Commission, as well as a food consultant for the Boston Public School food service. She is currently collaborating with Dr. Walter Willett (author of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy) on a project about inexpensive but healthy food.Didi was inspired to write Wild Flavors after she met Eva Sommaripa whose herbs and greens are widely coveted by Boston-area chefs. While she is revered for the unsurpassed quality of her produce, she is equally admired for her energetic commitment to a simple and environmentally conscious lifestyle.