I'm Ingrid Beer, and I'm a Los Angeles-based recipe developer and writer, and I welcome you to The Cozy Apron—so glad to have you as a guest at my table!
Here's where I share my passion for food, people and life through my culinary creations and my writing; and where my husband Michael and I both share our love for food photography.
Food inspires me to connect to people in the spirit of love and nurture; it is something tangible that gives taste to the intangible.
When we add a generous sprinkle of love to the meals that we prepare, there's truly a magical thing that happens: the food itself comes alive, as does the soul of the one partaking of it.
So whether you're cooking for family, for friends, or even for yourself, always do it with love, for love's sake.
A Morsel About Me:
I grew up an only child in the small, Midwestern town of Lake Orion, Michigan, to two immigrant parents from the country formerly known as Czechoslovakia, now the Slovak Republic. Our home was one of love, passion and coziness.
I remember our home always being filled with the aromas of home cooking, as dining out in restaurants, except on special occasions, was a rare treat.
Eastern Europeans have it in their blood to cook at home, as our family histories are often passed down through our family recipes.
I can vividly remember the windows in our kitchen that overlooked the canal we lived on becoming steamy on those bitterly cold Michigan days when my mother or father would be preparing a favorite winter-time, comforting meal: Hungarian beef goulash over tiny, homemade dumplings, or a big pot of soul-warming, from-scratch chicken soup that would sit patiently on the stove, bubbling and simmering away for hours until it was just right.
The zingy taste of hot, rosehip tea with lemon and honey after coming in from ice skating, cheeks red as apples, and nose and toes tingling from numbness, helped melt away the ice crystals.
Those moments felt like a blanket wrapped around my shoulders that I knew I would always want to have along with me in my life, no matter how old I was.
My mother taught me the basics of cooking long before culinary school ever did, without even realizing it.
I would often watch her while sitting on the counter-top sharing my day with her, and absorb her actions and the care she placed in them while she prepared our dinner.
It wasn’t until later in my life, when I myself became a wife and mother, that I realized how much love, nurture and care one can express through cooking for others.
It is a gift that has been given to us to share with one another!
We can receive inspiration and love, and also be an inspiration to others through what we thoughtfully and intentionally prepare.
And that’s why the name “The Cozy Apron” seems a perfect fit for our site.
I cherish the idea of someone anticipating slipping into the kitchen, putting on a favorite apron, and eagerly creating some wonderful, cozy and comforting memories in the way of cooking.
It's food for love's sake!
Culinary Creds:
I obtained my Culinary Arts degree from the California School of Culinary Arts (Le Cordon Bleu program) in Pasadena, CA after graduating with honors in 2005.
After a number of externships and stints in restaurants, I went on to have the privilege of being the Executive Chef of two substance abuse treatment centers in Malibu, CA, where my passion for people and the food they put into their bodies was further cultivated.
Until very recently I had the pleasure and the joy of working as a personal chef, and am currently a full-time recipe developer and writer.
The Cozy Apron has been featured on:
Huffington Post, New York Daily News, BuzzFeed, Yahoo, People, Elle Decor, Country Living, Today, MSN, The Kitchn, Southern Living, Good Housekeeping, among many others...