"MMMMMMMM, your meals are fabulous! I have never had a bad dish when you are in the kitchen :o) and my eyes have been opened to all the possibilities of plant based food. It truly is delicious!" ~Jennifer H., Marietta, GA

"If only I lived in Marietta, I would definitely call on Voluptuous Vittles every day! Natalie uses only the best ingredients and the freshest products, and when she’s got her apron on, she does her magic in the kitchen. My personal favorite is her hummus. It is superlative – so good that I couldn’t help but eat it with a soup spoon. You have to try it to believe me. And desserts? Oh my, she has an incredible chocolate cayenne torte that is truly amazing."~Adora Curry, Washington, DC

"Your vegan potato salad and your vegan chocolate cookies are the best I have ever eaten. Keep up the good work."~ Jean Glisson, Virginia Beach, VA

A Little About Me

For as long as I can remember, the kitchen has been stage center of my soul, and cooking has been one of my favorite forms of creative expression.  I love everything about it:  enticing aromas,  immediate gratification of something manifested from my own hands, bright colors arranged on a plate, feeding friends and family, and the pleasure of eating!  My mom still likes to remind me about how my 3-year-old self would come running into my parents bedroom at the crack of dawn, waking them up with a newspaper in one hand and a stick of butter in the other.  The butter, of course, being a favorite topping for my breakfast cuisine of choice:  toast.  I began cooking in earnest when my mom was barefoot and bursting at the belly with my little brother; I was just 7 years old.  I had already been dabbling around in cooking lessons, mixing up a batch of molasses cookies with my grandma, or watching my mom and her friend curl a ribbon of hard candy, but now I began making dinners on my own.  I perfected the bolognese sauce, the three-egg omelette, and I made the best hamburger in my hometown!

When I was nineteen, I developed an interest in nutrition and began to consider more closely the foods I put in my body.  I became vegetarian, but did not believe in a boring food palette or tasteless palate!  I lived with six other people who also loved to cook, and dinners at our house were always sensorial adventures—and always vegetarian.  My favorite form of entertainment was the “dinner party”, which I would host whenever I found the chance.  I developed my skills in ethnic cuisine this way…in my twenties, I hosted regular “theme night” dinner parties based on different ethnicities. 

My life journey, thus far, has taken me down many different roads, and I have hung my various hats in several culturally eclectic towns.  My travels “within” have been equally as adventuresome and edifying, eventually leading me to Veganism, a place where compassion is more than a choice…it is the only way I know to conduct a meaningful life.  I have been preparing purely plant-based meals for seven years, and have never once considered sacrificing the palpable pleasures of eating in creating body-, mind-, animal-, and earth-friendly dishes.  My kitchen is a sacred place, and when I enter it, I am filled with excitement for the magic that is about to happen… usually I never even know what is about to be created.  The ingredients simply speak to me, and before I know it, garlic and shallots are sizzling in a pan, a thyme-scented broth is simmering in my cast-iron pot, and basil, pine nuts, lemon juice and artichokes are whirling in the food processor.  The end result is always a tantalizing surprise!  While I have a huge place in my heart (and my belly) for comfort food, I love the artistry involved in plating a gourmet meal, and, I have to admit, I also relish finding the perfect wine to pair with the result.

As far as credentials go, my B.A. was in Drama and Studio Art (I love all forms of art and creativity), but over the years I have found myself honing a culinary education, which began right after college, when I cured myself of a severe case of candidiasis.  I have read books upon books on nutritional healing, vegetarianism, macrobiotics, and, of course, cookbooks of all kinds!  I attended the Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts, a macrobiotic school in Austin, Texas.  I have worked in “all natural” delis, preparing vegetarian and raw foods. I have also worked front-of-house in numerous restaurants, developing my service relations.  Most importantly, I have experimented in my own kitchen year after year, to the rave reviews of roommates, family, and friends!

My cooking focuses on fresh vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, herbs, spices, sea vegetables, beans, pastas (occasionally), and some fruit.  Combined with tempeh, seitan, and tofu, I can recreate any recipe you have your heart and tastebuds set on.  I believe food should be free of contaminants-- pesticides, growth hormones, genetic modifications, all of which devitalize the product of nutrition and taste, as well as lead to much of the rampant disease we see in our world today, like cancer and osteoporosis.  Therefore, I like to purchase local, organic ingredients whenever possible. 

When we sit down to eat, if we set an intention to put only whole, vibrant foods in our bodies, if our meals were prepared with joy and love, and if we take the time to enjoy our repasts, instead of hurrying through them in a stressed, chaotic frenzy, then we begin to change our world from the inside out.  We awake feeling refreshed and energetic, instead of sluggish and heavy; we become inspired, our thoughts become clearer and more focused; we create a ripple effect in our environment, in the people, plants, and animals we come into contact with… We can gauge our own vibration—physical and spiritual—merely by watching reactions of those around us.  Do they wilt or do they perk up?  What do we want our effect in the world to be?  Here we have come full circle, because it is only the “perky”, healthy plants we wish to put in our bodies.

It is not necessary to be vegan or vegetarian to enjoy my services.  You simply need to have the desire for a simpler, healthier life, more free time, and delicious dining experiences!