My Organic Life: How a Pioneering Chef Helped Shape the Way We Eat Today

Growing up on a farm in the Austrian Alps and later in Vienna, Nora Pouillon was surrounded by fresh and delicious foods. So when she moved to Washington, D.C., in the 1960s, she was horrified to discover a culinary culture dominated by hormone-bloated meat and unseasonal vegetables. First as a cooking teacher, then as a restaurateur, and eventually as the founder of America's first certified organic restaurant, Nora redefined what food could be, forging close relationships with local producers and launching initiatives to take the organic movement mainstream. As much the story of America's postwar culinary history as it is the memoir of a remarkable woman, My Organic Life encompasses the birth of the farm-to-table movement, the proliferation of greenmarkets across the country, and the evolution of the chef into social advocate.