Stories of a girl and the food she loves.

My name is Bentley. And before we become friends, I’ll tell you that my parents are not car fanatics. There’s also not really a cool story behind my name, just a really cool lady who wanted her kids’ names to be memorable. Here are some other things you should know:

I love cooking.

But funnily enough, I have spent most of my adult life living in places with bad kitchens. I don’t mind that this happened, it forced some creativity and resourcefulness when it came to cooking and hosting. And now that I have a big, beautiful kitchen in London, I can be extra grateful.

I love eating at a table.

And yet, we never seem to live somewhere where we can have one. From eating on the couch and using TV dinner trays, to now having some nice barstools, it’s not in our cards. That said, the community and conversation that happens when people are eating together and focusing just on that is magic and brings me true joy.

I am not a recipe developer.

But sometimes I’ll create on my own or make tweaks when I feel comfortable. Generally, I really enjoy cooking recipes from people who inspire me and know what they’re doing. Let’s call me a recipe collector for now. I feel fairly confident in my gathering, execution and pairing abilities.

I am not a healthy cook by common standards.

But I try to listen to my body, eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full. And I can’t help but hear my Dad’s voice in my head quoting Michael Pollan telling me to, “eat, move, sleep.” I thoroughly enjoy butter, bread, pork and other decadent ingredients, so I can’t vouch for substitutes. I also hate eating the same thing twice (yes, this is a flaw) so I rarely cook with leftovers in mind and it takes me awhile before I make something again because I love variety.

I am a storyteller.

I work in communications by day and have had a passion for writing since I did Power of the Pen when I was 13. So I think this will be my outlet to share what I’m making, why I chose it and what happened along the way. And if you’re just looking for recipes and ideas, I’ll make that easy too.

“Make a recipe exactly how it tells you to the first time, then you can make modifications and put your spin on it.” - Advice from Mom