Introducing The Ancestral Table: A New Way to Reconnect Through Food

For decades, our work has centered on one simple but powerful belief: when we reconnect with our food, we reclaim our health, our agency, and our humanity.

From the Amazon in Brazil to a mountain village in Oaxaca, the altiplano of Bolivia, the Andes in Peru, the countryside of Thailand, the mountains of the Republic of Georgia, Kenya, Italy - and so many places in between—we’ve had the honor of learning from and sharing food with incredible people, families, and communities. These experiences didn’t just inform our understanding of food- they transformed it.

• They shaped how we raised our family.

• They inspired how we built our restaurant.

• And now, they’re helping shape something new.

Nixtamilization research in Oaxaca (2018)

The Ancestral Table is a vibrant online community rooted in ancestral and traditional foodways.

Through weekly cooking workshops, shared experiences, and meaningful conversations, we empower one another to nourish ourselves and our families with intention and connection. Together, we’re reclaiming how humans are meant to eat, feel, and live - revitalizing our health, supporting our farmers, and strengthening the bonds between food, culture, and community.

We’ve lived this approach from the very beginning. When our kids were young, we made the trip every week to Pennsylvania to pick up raw milk, then transformed it at home into the butter, yogurt, kefir, and cheese that nourished our family. We navigated everything from junk food at classroom parties and processed snacks at friends’ houses to post-game “treats” on the sidelines of sports fields. We’ve raised our now 21-, 19-, and 17-year-olds on this path - not perfectly, but intentionally, and always with the goal of helping them grow up with a healthy, empowered relationship with food.

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We’re ready, are you??

Now, as we enter a new phase of life, we’re more ready than ever to share not only what we’ve learned through research and travel, but the real-life strategies we’ve used to make it all work day after day, year after year.

We love our in-person classes. Nothing can replace face-to-face learning. But after years of teaching, traveling, troubleshooting, and nourishing our own community through the Modern Stone Age Kitchen, we know our message - and the tools we’ve built to support it - can help people far beyond our town.

And that’s what this is about: impact. It’s time.

We’re not just sharing something we read in a book or picked up last month. This is the result of decades of academic and ethnographic research, countless hours in the kitchen, and daily practice feeding a family, running a restaurant, and living this life.

We didn’t stop with our family - we took this approach and flipped the restaurant industry on its head. At the Modern Stone Age Kitchen, we create deeply nourishing food using ancestral and traditional principles that prioritize safety, nutrient density, and bioavailability. We’re not just serving meals - we’re building a movement. From teaching classes in our food lab to mentoring an incredible team that believes in this mission, we’re doing everything we can to nourish our local community. But we know it’s not enough. This knowledge is too important to keep within the walls of our restaurant - or to limit to those who can travel to Chestertown. That’s why we’re launching The Ancestral Table - to bring this information, experience, and connection to you, wherever you are.

Inside The Ancestral Table, you’ll find:

• Weekly live cooking classes rooted in traditional techniques and nutrient-dense, practical recipes

• Live Q&A sessions where we dive deep into your real-life questions—nothing is off-limits

• Ongoing connection throughout the week to share wins, troubleshoot challenges, and support one another

• An always-accessible video archive of past classes, techniques, and how-to tutorials

• Behind-the-scenes access to our kitchen, food lab, and ongoing research

• First access to events, workshops, and our upcoming podcast

The Ancestral Table is more than just content—it’s a community. One that’s grounded in generosity, collaboration, and purpose.

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Just a few days ago, Christina captured the spirit of this beautifully in an Instagram post after we sat down with Jon and Amanda from Proof Bread in Arizona. Here’s what she wrote:

Today was one of those full-circle, goosebump kind of days.

Bill and I (Christina) had the chance to sit down with Jon and Amanda from Proof — people Bill has been following for five years, ever since Brianna started Rise by Brianna and he was lighting fires in our backyard oven at 2am. Back then, we were just trying to figure it all out — one loaf, one ferment, one early morning at a time.

And today, we found ourselves not just face to face, but heart to heart — diving deep into the real stuff:

📈 Spreadsheets and margins

💥 Hurdles and pivots

📦 Cost of goods, packaging, and shipping

❤️ And the “why” that keeps us all going

What struck us most was how open and honest it all was. There was no gatekeeping. No ego. No “this is mine, not yours.” Just generosity, collaboration, and the shared belief that when one of us rises, we all rise.

This is not the world we came from. In education, everything was locked down behind intellectual property or guarded like a secret sauce. But in entrepreneurship, especially in this nourishing, scratch-made, from-the-ground-up world of food… it’s different. It’s open. It’s real. And it’s human.

And maybe that’s because most of us started the same way - in garages and backyard bread ovens with more passion than profit and more questions than answers. But here we are - a little banged up from the ride, but more committed than ever to making food that matters.

So if you’re reading this and you’re dreaming… don’t stop.

Reach out to the people who inspire you.

Send the DM.

Ask the question.

Make the connection.

You never know where it will lead.

Today, it led to four people sitting around a table, reflecting on the journey and dreaming together about what’s next.

And that… is everything.

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That is exactly the kind of connection we’re building.

Research July 2025 with Chef Alex Atala in the Amazon of Brazil

We’ve been lucky to learn from some of the most inspiring voices in the food world—Chef Alex Atala, Chef Kevin Thornton, Chef Juan Penzini, Chef John Nocita, Sandor Katz, David Asher, Wayne Caddy, and so many others—and even luckier to build deep relationships with traditional communities around the globe who welcomed us into their homes, shared their wisdom, and helped us see food in a completely different light.

And now, we’re taking all of it—everything we’ve gathered, tested, refined, and lived—and turning it into something accessible, actionable, and real.

We know the modern food conversation is filled with fear, confusion, and contradiction. We’re not here to add more noise. We’re here to offer a grounded, empowering, and practical path forward.

The stories are exciting. The strategies are doable.
And the result is nothing short of transformational.

If you’re ready to take back your health, reclaim your kitchen, and surround yourself with others doing the same—then it’s time.

Pull up a seat at The Ancestral Table.
Let us reconnect you to your food.
It’s the most powerful way to nourish yourself and the people you love.

Stay Tuned and mark your calendars!