Autumn Nutrition: Cooking with Resilience

Hilary Brent is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Personal Chef and Food Stylist living in Vancouver, BC. Her passion for holistic wellness was ignited when a close family member was diagnosed with breast cancer. This newfound curiosity led her to fly across the country to British Columbia to study Holistic Nutrition. Having always worked in restaurants, Hilary decided to complete her co-op with a Private Chef in Vancouver. It was this experience that opened her eyes to the possibility of a dream career and an opportunity to have a tangible impact on the health of her clients and community. Hilary now owns and operates The Rooted Table - a bespoke holistic personal cheffing company where she and her team of chefs nourish clients across Vancouver and surrounding areas. She also works as a food stylist and recipe consultant for brands. Her hunger for continual learning and development led her to enroll at the University of British Columbia for a course in Food Writing. Her desire to have people gathered around a table to share a meal led her to launch Friends and Fare and Secret Handshake - two pop-up long table dinner series in Vancouver both with a focus on the celebration of seasonal eating. She has been the head chef for multiple retreats on Bowen Island and in Whistler. Her love of community led her to publish the PNW Eats Cookbook - a collection of community recipes contributed by chefs, herbalists and gardeners with 100% of proceeds being donated to two organizations. She has also worked as a holistic cooking educator - appearing annually on the BC Home and Garden Cooking Stage, as well as being an instructor for an online chef certification program and teaching cooking classes to corporate groups and in private residences. For Hilary, it always comes back to food. She believes what we eat is at the root of our health and ultimately, our happiness. She feels that food is the great connector - a catalyst for laughter, storytelling and love and she feels privileged to be able to work in a field that brings her so much joy.