Cooking Wheatless Culinary Studio was founded by Heidi Marks after finding that elimination of gluten products from her diet made for much happier joints and guts. Her goal is to provide others with culinary education to make the transition away from wheat and gluten easy and exciting. Heidi has been a serious home cook since she was a little girl, enjoying cooking ethnic, whole-food, and chocolate-based delights. Her husband Jeffrey shares in her passion for cooking, and they now share duties to be head chef for the big family holiday dinners. Together, they studied to become chocolatiers! Heidi has degrees in chemistry and environmental design, and is employed in the food safety field. Her methods are published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and she is the author of a chapter on chemical hazards in foods in the Food Safety Handbook published by Wiley. Her interests include nutrition and health, chocolate, gardening, birds, quantum physics, publishing, and graphic design & art. She is currently working on a cookbook and information resource, Essentials of Baking Gluten-Free: The Science and Art of Wheatless Breads and Baked Delights.

Our colorful and cheerful home-based kitchen studio is the setting for our classes, and has been recently renovated to include a large counter space, double convection ovens and a 6-burner gas rangetop. [Remodel by Creative Kitchen and Bath; mural from Murayah.]

The studio is surrounded by designated Backyard Wildlife Habitat/Sanctuary and Native Growth Protection forested green belt. In the summer, early birds can enjoy a few moments in the garden before class inspecting the varied ferns, flowering shrubs, native plants, and special Mary Garden.

Notice: Although locked away during classes, the household includes furry felines, so highly cat-sensitive individuals may find the facility not allergy-free. Also, there is wheat bread and cereal on the premises for consumption by other family members, but all the cooking utensils are gluten-free.