I’m Lori Webster. Welcome to Blue Bicycle Kitchen.
Blue Bicycle Kitchen grew out of my love for cooking, exploring healthier alternatives to traditional food, and sharing this passion with others. Food connects us. It is traditions, celebrations and it is comfort. Based in Malibu, CA, Blue Bicycle Kitchen is a personal journey of cooking and baking.
I began my journey by teaching others to cook, meal plan and organize their kitchen. It was truly rewarding to see others gain confidence in the kitchen, reduce dependency on recipes and find the joy in cooking.
I also spent a year in a professional kitchen as a pastry chef, tasked with preparing desserts and snacks that were nourishing, naturally sweet, free of refined sugars and using ingredients like Sucanat (a minimally processed cane sugar), coconut oil, coconut sugar, date syrup, maple syrup, honey, raw cacao and dried fruit. I created recipes for cakes and pastries that were free of white and powdered sugars. Chia puddings were made using dates, kale was given flavor by coating with a paste of lemon, garlic, cashews and nutritional yeast and then slowly dried out in the dehydrator. Yogurts, nuts and dried fruit and vegetables were made in a dehydrator then added to recipes. I experimented with endless formulas of grain free granola bars and raw nut based energy bites. There was a lot of trial and error, yet the reward was well worth the challenge of creating delicious, less processed desserts and snacks.
One of my most gratifying experiences is making meals for others. Between work, pick-up and drop-off, and after-school activities, dinner is something that so many have come to dread as a necessary chore. As an option to take-out and delivery, I offered healthy, customizable meals, delivered fresh to customers’ doors.
Many of my recipes have vegetarian and vegan options and most often, use seasonal and organic ingredients from local and sustainable farms. It is important to me to support and shop at weekly farmer’s markets and subscribe to a local CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) delivery program, connecting us to the source of our produce.
Many have asked where the name Blue Bicycle Kitchen came from. Several years ago, while visiting my daughter who was studying in Copenhagen, I was in awe of the concept of ‘hygge’, finding happiness in everyday life and enjoying simple pleasures, warm drinks, candle-lit rooms, their use of seasonal ingredients in cooking, and of course, bicycles. The Danes bike everywhere, rain or shine, young and old. Bicycles in Copenhagen now outnumber automobiles. When I thought of what I wanted to represent my passion, it was hygge, healthy seasonal meals and the freedom and happiness this represents.
My passion for cooking and baking began as a child in New York while visiting my maternal grandmother “Nonny” with my mother and sisters every week. Together, we would gather vegetables from her garden, visit the local butcher and salumeria’s, bake bread and pizza, and prepare traditional Italian dishes. At the time, even though we did not realize it, we were pioneers in local and organic sourcing.
My paternal grandmother, “Nanny Marge” also taught me to cook. In spite of her Italian heritage, Nanny Marge perfected brisket, potato latkes and an endless array of foods she learned to prepare to please her husband and his family, émigrés from Lithuania and Russia.
Now, with my husband, three children and two dogs, Southern California is home. It gives me tremendous joy to share my love of cooking with family, friends and those looking to discover new recipes and healthier twists on traditional food. I am passionate about inspiring others, sharing my favorite dishes, offering tips and techniques and instilling confidence in the busy home chef.
I received culinary and baking training at the New School of Cooking in Culver City, CA. Prior to my cooking profession, I was a management consultant in the financial services sector of KPMG, a global professional service company. I also graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
