Founded in 2009 by Barbara Schellenberg, the philosophy, inspiration and history behind Ethical Kitchen is remarkable.

My background educationally is in alternative medicine, herbal in the oral tradition of the Northern Hispanic, Navajo and Apache; shiatsu therapy and craniosacral therapy. I have always been fascinated with all the ways people have found to reach optimum health and maintain it. However, it is rare to come across a client who is close enough to optimal health that they will benefit so greatly from these therapies which are designed for fine-tuning. Nearly always a person is so deficient in even the basic foundations of health that it becomes necessary to begin with the simplest yet most profound element of caring for the body: nutrition. It always comes back to food. The other therapies are for tuning the instrument for whatever our desires may be. But nutrition is at the base of every need.

So came the desire to have a place for people to learn about nourishment; and from that came a restaurant and health shop.

With my background in ranching, having grown up in the interior, I also have a passion for the environment and for the pioneering families who still struggle to make it year to year, growing and raising our most valuable resource: our food. Education is a circulatory system that runs both ways; the people who shop for food with care and respect for the environment around them in turn stimulate a positive response in the communities from which the food originates, hightening awareness to environmental and husbandry issues and giving a positive inscentive for change.

With knowledge in herbal medicine and traditional therapies in many cultures, one thing always holds true: As within, so without. What we suffer from, it also in the world outside us and what we see outside is also within us. Therefore, if the food we are taking into our bodies is hurtful to the environment, then it is against this law that it should be still good for us. If, on the other hand, we bring into our bodies food grown with respect, then we bring that energy into ourselves and nourish our bodies as well as positively engage in our community and environment.

For what it’s worth, this is why I do what I do and love it!

Ethical kitchen materialized in fall of 2009 just before the birth of my daughter Tessa Maria in December. Being a mother of two has been a pleasure and a challenge, just as it should be.

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Ethical Kitchen staff

Current:

Myself, Barbara Schellenberg & daughter Tessa Maria Pauls (2+)

Sarah Jane Tomlinson

Rosina Santillana

Kesia Nagata

Cameron Drury

Antonio Quintanilla Guerra

Ronan

Past Employees: These people were instrumental in the beginning years of the restaurant, helping to get things running smoothly and learning together. These early days were shaped by the colorful and youthful nature of our little community and have in many ways directed Ethical Kitchen to becoming the real food haven it is today. My heartfelt thanks and love will always go to those who were there every day through the tough starting months. And my best wishes also go out to all of them in their new ventures, some food, some agriculture and some otherwise inspiring endeavors.

Fiona Schellenberg

Jazmin Riddell

Bradly James Maclachlan

Richard Ponec

Grace Major Bouck

Piti Thitipannakuhl

Nina Stuhlmacher

Manuela Wuthrich