Berends, Shannon: - Shannon Berends grew up in the small suburban town of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. She spent her weekends growing up at Weinrich's Bakery working the front counter and helping bake anything they would let her get her hands on. Each day her boss, Stephen Weinrich, would inspire her to follow her dream of going to culinary school. At the end of her high school career, Shannon went on to study baking and pastry arts at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. She went on to graduate with her bachelor's degree in culinary science and embark on her first job working at Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City as their research and development chef. After working at Momofuku Milk Bar, she went on to study kosher cooking and baking at Six Points Catering Company in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. After coming to understand the ins and outs of kosher cooking and baking, Shannon started working for Pepperidge Farm in Norwalk, Connecticut, as a food technologist on their Goldfish cracker team. Later in life, Shannon began working for PopCorners and Ideal Snacks in Liberty, New York, as their director of research and development. It was there that Shannon started to understand and experiment with flavor combination and creation. Wanting to get back in the kitchen, Shannon began a job with a family in Pennsylvania, where she worked as their personal chef and created new dishes for their son who had an autoimmune disease. After researching autoimmune-friendly recipes, she quickly discovered that there were not many, if any at all, that were created by chefs. She found a need to add flavor, color, and texture to the recipes. Feeling the desire to share her recipes with the world, Shannon set out to write her cookbook. Shannon has been writing new anti-inflammatory and autoimmune recipes ever since. Shannon has always believed in creating recipes that everyone can enjoy together because sharing food and company is the greatest gift of all.