Myra Kornfeld has been a culinary professional for over twenty five years. The innovative volume Cooking with the Muse (Tupelo, 2016), co-authored with Stephen Massimilla, includes 150 seasonal recipes, a plenitude of original poetry and nonfiction, and a wide-ranging anthology of culinary poetry.  She has taught thousands of students in hands-on and demonstration classes. Myra trained at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts and completed a professional pastry program at the Institute of Culinary Education. She gained diverse experience in catering and in restaurants such as Nosmo King, Le Cote Basque, and Verbena. A specialist in natural foods cooking, she worked for six years creating innovative vegan cuisine at New York’s Angelica Kitchen where, in addition to being the head pastry chef, she developed menu items and cooked daily specials for 100 persons. Her first book, The Voluptuous Vegan: More Than 200 Sinfully Delicious Recipes for Eggless, Meatless, and Dairy free meals, (Clarkson Potter, October 2000), went into eight printings. Her other books includeThe Healthy Hedonist: More Than 200 Delectable Flexitarian Recipes for Relaxed Daily Feasts, (Simon and Schuster, Healthy Hedonist Holidays; A year of Multi-Cultural Vegetarian Friendly Holiday Feasts, and The Voluptuous Vegan: More Than 200 Sinfully Delicious Recipes for Eggless, Meatless, and Dairy free meals, (Clarkson Potter, publishers). 

Myra has taught traditional cooking techniques, improvisational cooking, and cooking for people with food allergies in the graduate nutrition program at the Maryland University of Integrative Health. She taught traditional food workshops and ethnic cooking classes at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City for two decades. She taught for years at the Institute of Culinary Education, and has taught numerous private classes to groups and individuals as well as at schools and workshops across the country. Myra specialized in team-building events for special occasions, and her corporate cooking parties included companies such as Banana Republic, Jurlique, Gap, and Colgate Palmolive. Her kitchen served as a laboratory where people gather for celebratory events, cooking lessons, and cooking parties.

Myra has been on the Today show in New York City and has been a columnist for Organic Gardening and Vegetarian Times. She was the head chef for myfoodmyhealth.com, a culinary nutritional website that existed for over 10 years and had a featured video column each month. She was co-chairman of the wellness committee for the Woman’s Culinary Alliance in New York City. 

Myra spent years mentoring young culinary students, especially those interested in the impact of food on well-being. She is currently involved in documenting Gujarati family recipes from a masterful home cook. 

Myra loves creating flavorful naturally healthy dishes based on sustainable agricultural practices. She is especially mindful of consuming and advocating traditionally raised and pastured animal foods. She is a food designer, quirky and innovative, aware and interested in how flavors, textures, and colors go together, and ever enthusiastic to share and inspire others. She’s likely to have a slow cooking bone broth or some jar of something fermenting on any given day in her kitchen. A frequent traveler, Myra delights in feasting on the sights and tastes of foreign cultures. She loves to share her cooking knowledge, tips, and secrets in a fun and relaxed way. She excites people with natural food that is delicious, appealing, and leaves them feeling great. Myra remains up-to-date with culinary developments, and has been an advisor to food companies seeking to provide healthful offerings. 

Myra has a degree in design from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a degree in fashion design from The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.