Testimonials

“For anyone who wants to celebrate food while getting healthy and living lightly on the planet, Leslie Cerier is your guide.” Mark Hyman, MD, author of #1 New York Times bestseller, The Blood Sugar Solution

“Gluten-Free Recipes is a fantastic, easy-to-follow cook book that will open up worlds of healthy eating pleasure.“  Christiane Northrup, MD authority on women’s health and auithor of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom

“Leslie Cerier works her culinary magic, sharing her creative genius for enchanting, earth-friendly recipes.“Kathie Madonna Swift MS RD LDN

“Leslie Cerier is the consummate master of conscious cookery, a veritable culinary goddess.”Chris Kilham, The Medicine Hunter

“An inventive cook, Leslie Cerier concocts ingenious ways to make even the healthiest food not just palatable, but delectable.”Daniel Goleman, Internationally known psychologist; author of Emotional Intelligence

“You can gauge a people’s overall condition by the quality of its food. Americans typically allow themselves ill-prepared, ill-presented, fast, neurotic, unhealthy, and tasteless food. Leslie Cerier’s cookbook offers imaginative ways to restore health and taste, providing practical information, great recipes, and a fresh vision of what eating could be.” Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and the Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life

“Leslie is a hot ticket. She’s inspired, inspiring, super talented, fearless, fun(!) and knows her stuff. She’s also dedicated lifestyler who walks the talk – and that means something to me. I love hanging out and working with Leslie, hearing about all the great things happening in her career – one big gig after another, one booked-out-with-waiting-list special event at one super eco chic venue after another. Talk about someone deserving. Mostly I love Leslie’s zest for life(!) As an environmentalist, I appreciate she’s out there sharing such great pleasure-is-healthy and food-is-medicine life philosophies with the world. Leslie is PART OF THE SOLUTION.”Zoe Helene, Founder, Cosmic Sister

“Leslie is the real deal. She understands food and wellness with a rare depth, and she shares her wisdom with playfulness and grace. Everything she does–from cooking to teaching–is delicious!”Robyn Lawrence, Former Editor-in-Chief, Organic Spa Magazine

”Leslie’s cookbook is an excellent resource for those interested in gluten-free cooking.  In fact, friends and family members will enjoy the recipes as well.“Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D., Author, and Founder and CEO of Natural Gourmet Institute, NYC

“First, let me take a moment to thank you for teaching your classes at the Natural Gourmet. They were well received. I really enjoyed sitting in and listening to you. You have a nice and easy way about you and are generous with your information.“Judith Friedman, Director of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Food and Health

“Millions suffer needlessly not knowing their chronic illnesses, digestive problems, headaches, autoimmune diseases, joint pain, weight gain, depression, fatigue and more are caused by eating a staple in our diet – a little pesky protein called gluten found in wheat, barley and rye.  Leslie Cerier’s Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook, cookbook opens a world of food wonder and delight making gluten free eating an inviting celebration of flavors, textures and colors.  The side effect is weight loss, energy, and for many relief of serious chronic illnesses.  For anyone who wants to celebrate food while getting healthy and living lightly on the planet this cookbook is your guide. Mark Hyman, MD, author of #1 New York Times bestseller, The Blood Sugar Solution

“Simple, instructive and systematic, yet wildly creative, Leslie Cerier’s cookbook is nourishment for body and soul. Approaching cooking as sacred play, it is a tool for those who wish their daily fare were more “organic” but don’t quite trust themselves at the sacred art of  “cooking from scratch.”Vicki Noble healer and author of Motherpeace: A way to the Goddess

Renaissance Cook, Healer and Culinary Alchemist
Leslie Cerier is a healer, cook and Renaissance woman.  She is part alchemist, part visionary and part teacher.  To describe her energy is to look towards the sky and dream.  Her lessons for the universe are to be in harmony with nature.  Leslie has discovered the bounty of the earth and she shares this passion through her determination for her craft.  Leslie is the earth momma who you wish to be your teacher.  She is a gifted photographer of the hidden elements in life and she captures environmentalism in her images.   Leslie teaches and writes about the whole life and the ability to express herself. Blikki.com January 2013 issue

“Leslie experiences food as prevention, medicine, nourishment, but mostly pleasure. When you meet her you will find a woman aglow with vitality and energy. For healthy, affordable, timesaving, earth-friendly, and good-for-the-soul food, I ‘ll have what she’s having!”   Madeline Charney, Reference Service Librarian, University of Massachussetts-Amherst,MA

“Leslie Cerier is a talented, compassionate, and educated “Organic Gourmet.” On two occasions, I have had the pleasure of featuring Leslie on my weekly radio show and I plan on inviting her back for another interview soon! Her recipes are delicious, accessible, healthy and easy to follow and her personality exudes enthusiasm for everything that she does. I look forward to working with Leslie on other projects in the future!” Laura Theodore, The Jazzy Vegetarian, Radio & TV Host, Vegan Chef and Author

“Leslie was a guest on Green Ar Live! to discuss her cookbook, Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook. She is knowledgeable, prepared and engaged the audience’s questions–overall just a wonderful guest! I found her cookbook, recipes and tips to be easy to follow. The dishes are flavorful and delicious. There are so many great recipes, my favs are the Soba w/Tempeh & Broccoli in Coconut Sauce; Corn Grits w/Sauteed Onions, Kale & Cheddar; Apple Coconut Crisp and Basmati Soup w/Indian Spices. I can’t wait for upcoming books so that I can invite her back!”Arlene Bahar, Talk Show Host, Green Ar Live!

“Leslie’s “Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook” is the perfect primer for getting acquainted with a wide range of lesser- known whole grains, whether you’re following a gluten-free diet or not. The general information on how to cook grains to control texture and taste is invaluable, and the many recipes are creative and original.”       Cynthia Harriman, Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies at Oldways/Whole Grains Council.

“If you think being gluten-free means eating a diet of white rice and starches, think again.  Leslie’s innovative recipes show us just how broad and delicious this regimen can be… and healthy, too. “           Beth Hillson, Founder, Gluten-Free Pantry, Food Editor, Living Without Magazine, President, American Celiac Disease Alliance

“In her inimitable style, Leslie Cerier presents a wealth of seasonal recipes…that are as flexible as they are healthy and delicious. No one will feel deprived with such luscious dishes as Hearty Greens and Tofu in Tahini Sauce or Banana Buckwheat Pancakes with Pecans. Best of all, these recipes aren’t only for those with dietary restrictions—a wealth of ideas awaits anyone who loves fresh produce and whole grains in creative combinations.” Nava Atlas, author and illustrator of many books, most recently Wild About Greens, and Vegan Holiday Kitchen.

“Leslie’s wonderfully tasty recipes make it so much easier to get the daily requirements of whole grains that are so important for our gluten-free diet.  She offers a tantalizing array of main courses, breakfasts, sides, and sweets that are supremely satisfying. Every gluten-free kitchen needs a copy of this book. —Carol Fenster, author of 1,000  Gluten-Free Recipes” Carol Fenster is the author of ten gluten-free cookbooks, including 100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes

“With our health and the health of our planet in mind, Cerier has successfully created exquisite culinary sensations using grains, exotic rices, fruits, and vegetables.”Tina Turbin, contributing writer for the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, Awareness Magazine, and other publications

“For four years Leslie has cooked for my daughter, a student at Amherst College.  What a blessing!  Kate has been incredibly grateful for the healthy and delicious food and we are both convinced it’s thanks to Leslie that she’s made it through with practically no illness.  Is Kate fighting a cold?  Leslie shows up with miso soup full of greens and ginger–and Kate doesn’t get the cold.  On the other hand, is it Valentine’s day?  Leslie shows up with her to-die-for chocolate mousse and I can hear the delight in Kate’s voice as she describes this week’s desert. After hearing Kate’s happy description of many delicious meals, I had to get Leslie’s latest cookbook, Going Wild in the Kitchen.  Her mushroom strudel has become a favorite for holiday meals and her seitan quesadillas are very popular.  Leslie is a real artist.  When she cooks, healthy, joyful and imaginative all go hand in hand.  She is truly extraordinary.” Sandy Robinson, Maryland

 “What a wonderful evening we had with Leslie in the kitchen and at dinner.  Everyone here thoroughly enjoyed the cooking demonstration and the food! Lunch on Sunday before the gang got on the road was a repeat dinner, and the flavors were even better after blending. Erik said he had never had a professional cook for him ever! Steven said it was an inspired idea. So there you have it. Wonderful for all!”  Margaret and Sandy, Shutesbury, MA

“Participating in a life-long love affair with food – from the days of cooking strudel in her grandmother Ethel’s kitchen to teaching classes today from the kitchen in her passive solar home in Shutesbury, Cerier sees the preparation of healthy food as an act of creativity. For Cerier, being in the kitchen is a melding of the culinary arts with the grace and whim of interpretive dance. Cerier’s ever-changing menu combines what’s in season with color and mood, whimsy and what’s in stock, she says. Experiencing whole foods during the entire year brings pleasure and fun into her life, she says, as wells as nourishing her and keeps her healthy.”Noah Hoffenberg, writer for Many Hands, Northampton, MA

“Leslie’s approach to cooking fits into my life.  Giving definitions of ingredients, easy-to-follow charts, clear directions, and substitutions/variations, Leslie has inspired me to eat healthier and to expand the repertoire of meals that I prepare.  Leslie’s recipes are quick and easy, and with a little advanced planning, they can be made when I get home from work.  I took a 5-day program with Leslie and found her to be very supportive, encouraging, and approachable – she answered every one of my many questions! Thank you again Leslie, for a wonderful workshop.  I hope our paths will cross again some day.” Namaste, Diane McNamara, Philadelphia, PA

“I came home and was inspired by you. I cleaned out my pantry and realized I had some products right in my pantry that I thought I would have to buy… Your class was great and I enjoyed it immensely.  I also enjoyed your attitude towards food and your understanding and patience of those that are just starting to contemplate changes within themselves.” Rasheeda, Dietician, Bronxville, New York Participant in Cooking for Womens Health

“Great Class! The instructions, guidelines and basic information were clear. The answers to specific questions were answered in detail. I believe I can apply this class to cooking at home.” Lisa Moore, Sunderland, MA

“Thanks for SUCH a great class… I already made the peanut butter choc. chip cookies w/ the teff flour … so yummy!  You empowered me — which is exactly what I needed … I needed to deconstruct my intimidation with things like quinoa … so thank you!  It’s been fun flipping through the book, I’m really glad I bought it.  Grrrreat to meet you — thanks again — I’m sure I will see you again.”Love & Peace, Tricia Armstrong, Northampton, MA

I attended your gluten-free cooking weekend workshop at Kriipalu Center for Yoga and Wellness. I just wanted to tell you that guests that recently stayed with us at our bed and breakfast RAVED about the gluten free goodies I was able to prepare for them. I made the banana pancakes one day and the cranberry crisp another. Very yummy and as our guest said “its a keeper! Hope to see you again soon.” Leslie Kiersted, Pickle Hill B and B, Binghamton NY 13901

“I attended your workshop at Omega that you and Melinda Dennis did together. OMG I am still putting into place all the great things you taught us. I so loved your style of sharing – you are a wealth of information, it was so great that you shared so much as you demonstrated your fabulous recipes. I have shared your name and cook book titles with many coworkers and family members- I have two and they are both so wonderful. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you. “Denise Fuller, Florida

“In the age of pre-packaged, heat and serve, mealtimes often lack nourishment; that is, food that satisfies both body and spirit. But fortunately there’s a remedy: A unique cookbook by Leslie Cerier, Going Wild in the Kitchen. This cookbook not only offers150+ healthy, palate-pleasing vegetarian recipes, but also inspires and guides readers toward greater creativity in the kitchen. 

There is much to like about Going Wild in the Kitchen, not least of which are the many glossaries, charts, and tables that provide all the information one will need in order to prepare the delicious and exciting vegetarian recipes contained in the book – and perhaps a few of your own culinary creations! One particularly handy table details cooking instructions for over eighteen different varieties of grains, including a few “ancient grains,” several of which I’ve never heard of before. And then, of course, there are the recipes! Quinoa with Cauliflower and Feta, and Italian Lentil Stew with Creamy Grano are just two favorites. What’s grano, you ask? No worries, it’s all in the book!

Going Wild in the Kitchen is beautifully illustrated, however one will not find it includes any glossy photographs, yet surprisingly they are not missed! The author, who is an expert cooking instructor as well as a gourmet organic caterer, awakens the imagination by sharing her knowledge, experience, and passion in this superbly substantive vegetarian cookbook. Indeed, Going Wild in the Kitchen is bound to present more than a few welcome surprises for even the experienced chef.” Vegetarianwomen.com

“Venture into the wild side of the garden and you’ll probably find cookbook author Leslie Cerier foraging for a handful of wild greens she features in Going Wild in the Kitchen, a very vegan-friendly, vegetarian cookbook that expands the boundaries of traditional cooking. Inspired, curious, and effervescent about cooking, Leslie aims to ignite that spark of excitement in others to help them explore new foods and discover their creative sides.

“Cooking is a daily ritual that feeds your spirit as well as your body,” says the author, while expressing it’s more than just eating to satisfy hunger. She views cooking as “a celebration of the earth’s bounty” and embraces the changing seasons that bring new taste inspirations to the everyday table.

Recipe for Inspiration is an invaluable nineteen-page chapter that encompasses the author’s how-to’s like refreshing favorite recipes by exchanging a few ingredients, cooking on the grill when steamy weather chases us out of the kitchen, and presenting suggestions for collecting edible wild plants. This section is packed with informative, detailed charts that inform the reader about uncommon edibles and when to harvest edible flowers, wild greens, and roots, and how they will taste. Here she discusses sweet, sour, pungent, and spicy herbs as well as spices she uses to enhance her recipes.

An extensive glossary of grains and beans along with cooking charts for both introduces the reader to less familiar foods like amaranth, carnaroli rice, and grano. The glossary also includes a primer on mushrooms, Asian vegetables, sea vegetables, noodles, sweeteners, and ingredients new vegetarians may not have encountered, like kudzu and umeboshi paste. Concluding the Recipe for Inspiration is an old-fashioned glossary of cooking terminology to bring newbies up to speed.

Mother Nature lavishes new gifts like leafy greens, vegetables, herbs, edible flowers, and edible wild foods sprouting up from the earth with each change of season, providing Leslie with a never-ending harvest to keep her fired-up.

The author is a true believer in starting the day with breakfast. Her choices range from simple blender treats like Raspberry Almond Smoothie or porridge to more moderately involved Scrambled Tofu with Tomatoes and Fresh Basil. Alternatively, a special morning meal could include Teff Banana Pancakes, Cranberry Scones, or Blueberry Muffin Cake. While each recipe lists specific ingredients, the Mix and Match page at the beginning of each chapter suggests alternatives to create recipe variations.

Clearly, the author loves to prepare soups. One can almost taste a ladleful of hearty Moroccan Lentil Soup with Saffron, a delicious pot of vegetable-enhanced lentil soup seasoned with garlic, ginger, cumin, and cayenne. The facing page, titled Great Garnishes, contains an almost encyclopedic listing of ways to dress up a soup.

Wilder than her soup combinations, are the wild ingredients Leslie uses to make Flavored Oils and Vinegars. Imagine infusing pine needles into white wine vinegar! Wait five to six weeks, then, enjoy this very exotic treat. To season tabbouli salad, she suggests a combination of lemon balm, mint leaves, and violet flowers that become her Lemon-Mint Oil.

The section on Sauces, Dips, and Dressings brings the cook into the world of fusion, where the author expresses untamed creativity in combinations like HummBaba, her blend of Hummus and Baba Ghanoush. While Mexico and the Mediterranean are far apart, they become one in a bowl of tasty Cilantro-Olive Spread.

There’s absolutely nothing buttoned-down about this creative cookbook author, a delightful trait that shines through on nearly every page of Going Wild in the Kitchen. Knishes, filled with potatoes or meat, are old-world traditional turnovers found in Jewish delis, but no deli will ever encounter the likes of Curried Vegetable Knishes with Chickpeas. These knishes are seasoned with cinnamon, cayenne, garlic, ginger, fennel, and cumin seeds and filled with butternut squash, raisins, and chickpeas.

Whether its grain dishes, main dishes, side dishes, or anything in-between, it’s a wild ride in this author’s kitchen. And she gives her dessert recipes equally unbridled creativity. At dessert time, home cooks can dig deeply into heavenly dark chocolate land for recipes like Hot Fudge, Dark Chocolate Cake, and Vegan Chocolate Mousse Pie, or if they yearn for fruity flavors and spiced treats, they can plunge their forks into Maple Cranberry Pecan Cake or Pumpkin Date Pie.

There’s plenty of bedtime reading in Going Wild in the Kitchen to inspire a plan for the next day’s dash into the kitchen, book in hand. Leslie Cerier packs this volume with loads of Mix and Match ideas to inspire anyone interested in cooking with a multitude of variations. Sidebars, cooking tips, head notes, and For a Change suggestions all share a common theme-there are no have-to’s in these recipes, only variations and more variations in this innovatively crafted cookbook.”  Vegparadise.com

Photo of Leslie by Tracey Eller

 

 

 

Renowned Chef & Author
Classes~Recipes~Speaker
Gourmet Getaway Retreats