Teen’s cooking prowess lands her on national food allergy stage

by Diane Demuynck

Hudsonite and Western Reserve Academy student Catherine Walker is making quite a “stir” with her talents in the kitchen. The 14-year-old is cooking up success with her own cookbook and a trip to Washington D.C. to share her food allergy tips with others.

Catherine will be a featured speaker at the Food Allergy Research & Education FAREcon and teen summit on Nov. 2-4 in Washington. Her session, “Cook It Up: Delicious Recipes for Healthy Cooking,” takes its name from the title of Walker’s 2018 allergy cookbook, for which she is the author and photographer.

“I was surprised and excited to be asked to be part of such a conference,” she said. “I am excited to be able to promote my cookbook and my cooking. It is wonderful knowing I can help others who struggle with food allergies and that they, too, can learn to cook great food and move past their allergies.”

Catherine traces her love of cooking back to age 3, when she would bake with her mother, Inga Walker. They enjoyed baking cookies and other delicious treats for the family but had to modify recipes and sometimes create their own to avoid ingredients that could trigger a dangerous allergic reaction in Catherine.

She was diagnosed with dairy, egg, peanut, tree nuts and quinoa allergies after having an immediate reaction to a flu shot, which contained egg, when she was 9 months old. Catherine’s 11-year-old brother shares the same food allergies.

Parents of children with food allergies work constantly trying to navigate their child’s diet and allergies. Birthday parties are one of the biggest challenges, but even going out to dinner as a family can be difficult.

When Catherine was 12, she began to cook more independently and was inspired by the variety of cooking shows on the Food Network. The celebrity chefs encouraged Catherine’s creative side, and she began her journey into the culinary world, first preparing family dinners and later drafting her own recipes. Her first taste of public success can in 2016, when she was a named a finalist in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Healthy Lunchtime Challenge.

Catherine said she chooses recipes “according to the vegetables that are in season. I would use squash in the fall and green beans in the summer.”

Many of the recipes come to her at night.

“I would then create the dish the following day,” she said. “My mother was a huge part of encouraging me to write my book.”

Catherine self-published her “Cook It Up” collection of recipes through babybook.com. Her favorites are the spicy shrimp salad and lemon cake. In addition to writing all of the recipes, Catherine is the photographer for edible inspirations.

“Cook It Up” can be found on Amazon or locally at Heinen’s and The Learned Owl Book Shop for $34. Catherine said plans are in the works for a Heinen’s appearance to promote her book.

Although cooking is fun, the Hudson teen said she may one day hang up her apron and pursue another passion.

“I want to travel the world and be a photographer, exploring different cultures and cuisines,” she said. “One of my dreams would be to have my works published in National Geographic.”

 

Featured image photo caption: Catherine Walker, a freshman at Western Reserve Academy, will share her recipe book and allergy-safe cooking ideas at a Washington, D.C., food allergy conference. Photo courtesy of Inga Walker