From Our Family to Yours: Why Modern Stone Age Exists

I recently had the chance to sit down for an interview that reminded me just how far this journey has taken us. What began as a simple shift in how we fed our own family has grown into something none of us could have imagined: a restaurant, food lab, and community movement focused on reconnecting with real food.

When COVID hit, Bill was running the Food Lab and teaching sourdough bread-baking classes. My oldest, Brianna, was stuck in online school, so she joined him in the kitchen. Together they baked 80–100 loaves each week, eventually launching Rise by Brianna. What started as a way to fill the community’s need for bread during uncertain times became the seed that grew into the Modern Stone Age Kitchen.

Neither Bill nor I ever planned to run a restaurant—we both had full careers elsewhere. But as our home-grown work with bread and food education gained momentum, it became clear this was our calling. Today, we employ 35 people, host apprenticeships for local students, and welcome toddlers, college kids, and adults alike into workshops that teach ancestral food traditions and real-life skills.

At its heart, this has always been about more than just food. It’s about education, connection, and giving people—whether they’re our kids, our staff, or our community—the tools to live healthier, more intentional lives.

You can read the full interview here (page 40), and if you haven’t already, we’d love for you to join our Ancestral Table Community. Last week’s session covered the history of dairy, and this week we dove into making yogurt and kefir from scratch. It’s a great way to learn alongside us and bring these traditions into your own home.

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