Photo courtesy of Jo Ann Santangelo | Mural at Sustainable Food Center

Speaking

Want Kate to come to your school, office or event? Look over the range of topics she can cover for your group, private event or conference.

Speaking fees waived for grassroots or community organizers who help to coordinate book-selling events and classes that will cover the costs of travel. Kate builds book tour trips around planning a number of events to cover the costs.

To book Kate as a speaker please send an email outlining your request via the contact form. Please include event date, location and your phone number.

Selected Speaking Engagements Include:

• July 2017 – Dallas, TX: Kate is speaking about pickling and fermentation trends at the Texas Restaurant Association Marketplace event
• February and July 2016 – Belton, TX & Milwaukee, WI: Kate presented on sweet preserves and waterbath canning and green cleaning basics at Mother Earth News Fairs
• February 2015 – Austin, TX: Kate was the keynote speaker at the Austin Herb Society Annual meeting and covered lacto-fermentation basics and incorporating herbs into projects like brined pickles, fermented relishes and chutneys, and fermented and other infused beverages
• July 2014 – Austin, TX: Kate facilitated a team-build canning and pickling workshop for the Whole Foods Market global marketing team
• September 2013 – Fredericksburg, TX: Kate discussed the essentials of fermentation at the Renewable Energy Round Up & Green Living Fair
• August 2013 – Austin, TX: Kate discussed building a vibrant social media platform with beginning farmers at the 2013 Strong Starts Urban Farming 101 series from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Travis County.
• March 2012 – Tucson, AZ: Kate discussed how to build a writing career with current UA Honors students at the University of Arizona Honors College.

Presentation Topics:

• Small-Batch Preserving Basics: Learn the basics of preparing seasonal fruits and vegetables safely and easily using waterbath canning, pressure canning or fermentation methods. Gain an understanding of what makes food safe to keep sealed at room temperature and get inspired to begin your own home food preservation projects.
• Seasonal Entertaining on a Budget: Learn how to throw a seasonal party without breaking the bank, from easy decor ideas to great suggestions for low-cost snacks and beverages.
• Kitchen Kickass: Simple ways to empower yourself in the kitchen, includes knife skills, what you do and don’t need to buy gadget-wise, stocking the kitchen and eliminating food waste, and learning to make the kitchen a part of your lifestyle.
• Gluten-Free Baking and Lifestyle: Adapting to the gluten-free life doesn’t have to be difficult. Learn the basics of baking your own gluten-free goods, including how to incorporate pre-existing flour mixes into recipes and how to make your own cup-for-cup blends.
• Green Your Cleaning Supplies Cabinet: Learn how to dispose of harmful chemicals and switch to non-toxic cleaning with items you already have in the pantry. Identify alternatives to common chemical cleaners to save money and rid your home of toxic fumes.
• Sprucing Around the House: Learn how to develop a simple, affordable decorating and design plan for individual areas of your home. Hone your eye for easily improvised solutions to common household problems.
• Social media 101: Identify the pro’s and con’s of various social media platforms and how to maximize your reach as a starting blogger, business or other venture

Workshop Topics:

Food Preservation

• Pickling 101: Small-Batch Fermentation and Fridge Pickling: Start making pickles today with this easy introduction to pickling. You’ll learn how preserve small quantities of any type of vegetable (or even fruits) without needing to pull out the canner pot. This course also includes an intro to fermentation and introduces a beginner-friendly method for you to try out small batches.
• Fresh Pickling Workshop: Pickling with vinegar allows us to preserve local produce for pantry storage to enjoy pickled snacks and appetizers all year long. This class includes instruction on waterbath canning safety and sealing jars for shelf-storage.
• Lacto-fermented Pickling Workshop: Learn to turn those cucumbers, carrots, beans and other veggies into delicious probiotic snacks. In this 2-hour demonstration class Kate will cover the essentials of brined pickle projects and the science behind why they work and what makes these kinds of pickles good for us.
• Intensive Lact0-Fermentation: Understand the science behind lacto-fermentation processes and gain a working knowledge of how to ferment any vegetable using a brine or dry-salting method. This 4-hour course also includes a primer on fermenting fruit scraps into live cultured vinegars.
• Small-Batch Sweet Preserving: Start making your own jams and jellies using simple ingredients. You’ll learn how to know when a jam reaches a set and other tricks of the sweet preserving trade. This class includes instruction on waterbath canning safety and sealing jars for shelf-storage.
• Pressure Canning Basics: Start making your own stocks and soups using local, seasonal ingredients. You’ll learn proper methods for how to safely seal jars for shelf storage with ingredients that are not safe to simply waterbath can.
• Pressure Canning Advanced Class: This advanced level pressure canning workshop focuses on canning low acid foods and covers how to safely put up soups, vegetables, convenience items and dinner starter ideas. Participants will learn how to safely adapt existing soups, stews, and sauce recipes for pressure canning. Attendees must have baseline knowledge and some level of experience with of pressure canning stocks and/or must have completed the pressure canning basics class.
• Small-Batch Preserving with Kids: Parents, pull out your aprons for this intimate, hands-on workshop where you will learn small-batch home food preserving you can do as a family. In this fun and educational session you and your kids will learn life-long skills for preparing seasonal fruits and vegetables safely and easily.
• Gifts in Jars: Show your friends and family some homemade love this holiday season. Learn how to water bath can and assemble great homemade food gifts. In this demonstration class, Kate will show attendees the process for canning cranberry jam and making fruit rolls. Class includes ideas for other great food gifts, compiling gift kits and packaging your DIY and home-preserved foods and treats for holiday gifting.

Bar and Beverage

• DIY Bar: Hands-On Seasonal Beverages Workshop: Learn a handful of new tricks for preparing delicious infused beverages and sipping with friends without breaking the bank. In this hands-on class, Kate will cover the methods for using seasonal produce to infuse alcohol and liqueurs, simple syrups and shrubs (a sweetened fruit-infused vinegar syrup) and share tasty cold- or hot-brewed tea flavors. Attendees will sip a few infusions in class (non-alcoholic) and will start their own shrub infusions with seasonal fruit in class to finish at home.
• DIY Bar: Fermented beverages: Learn to ferment your own non-alcoholic beverages in this 2-hour demonstration class. Participants will learn the basics of yeast-fermented things like root beer or ginger beer and other fermented projects like drinking vinegars or kombucha. Kate will cover basic methods plus refer attendees to other resources to consult for expanding their fermented beverages knowledge.
• DIY Bar: Crafting seasonal and artisanal bitters: Learn the art of crafting your own bitters and liqueurs to add unique, creative flavors to your home bar. Participants will learn the science behind and basic techniques for home infusions. Additionally, we will discuss the history and present-day use of botanicals, bitters, and liqueurs as herbal remedies for relaxation, digestion, and more. Participants will each create and take home their own personalized jar of bitters in class with botanicals such as wormwood, gentian, dandelion, wild cherry bark  and various aromatic spices.

Kitchen and Home Skills

• Budget-friendly entertaining: Learn how to throw a seasonal party on a budget. Kate will throw a little party in class offering a multitude of suggestions for low-cost snacks and beverages, setting yourself up for a non-stressful party, and managing party flow. This demonstration class will feature a menu of French-style radish appetizers, a seasonal veggie risotto, a dessert treat and sips of a seasonal shrub (a cocktail featuring a sweetened fruit-infused vinegar syrup).
• Knife skills 101: This 1-hour workshop covers how to select, use and care for your knives. Kate will demonstrate cutting up all the different kinds of things that give beginners trouble. Walk away from this workshop feeling empowered with your tools!
• Gluten-free Sandwich Bread: Learn to make your own healthy and delicious gluten-free sandwich bread. Gain an understanding about the nuances of producing tender bread loaves with assorted gluten-free flours and yeast.
• Gluten-free Pie: Learn to make your own crusts for sweet and savory pies. Workshop includes a demonstration-style walk through of all the steps and tricks involved in making delicious double and single crust pies. Attendees make their own dough in class to bake at home.
• Green Your Cleaning Supplies: Attendees will learn the simple chemistry of cleaning, transitioning away from chemical cleaners and methods for easy-to-make homemade supplies. All participants will take home an info packet with ‘recipes’ for cleaners for different areas of the home. Additionally, workshop participants will make and take home a bottle of a customized scented all-purpose cleaner and a few cleaning tools to get their non-toxic cleaning on!
• Unique DIY Decor Projects: Learn to make home accents like mason jar pendant lights or jelly jar string lights, seasonal craft and entertaining projects.

Home Consultations:

Work with the Hip Girl herself! Kate helps clients figure out how to not only arrange their space and components better, but also how to live better under their own roofs. Let Kate figure out a personalized home consultation plan based on your interests, from cooking, baking and preserving to cleaning and gardening, Kate will help you feel more confident and relaxed at home. Contact Kate to set up a free initial site visit and to learn more about the consulting options available.