Mad Kelly is a cook, herbalist, artist, and gardener based in Oakland, California. Through her work, she strives to combine her passions for medicinal foods and herbs, seasonality, local food sourcing, joyful cooking, nutrient-dense plates, and cultural exploration. Her appreciation for nature and local food is influenced by growing up in a family of citrus and avocado farmers, and she learned to cook early in life from her grandmother and mother. She has 5 years of professional culinary experience, including her very first bakery job, line cooking in various restaurants, cooking for families as a postpartum doula, taking culinary classes at City College of San Francisco, hosting dinner parties, and starting her own private chef business in the Bay Area. She loves to volunteer at Alemany Farm on weekends and tends to her home garden where she grows culinary herbs and vegetables year-round. Mad's dream is to combine her love of food and healthy living to help our communities and planet heal.