About Chef Katrina

I connect the children to food that tells us stories. These fruits and vegetables are truly seasonal—so they tell the story of what is growing in our fields and orchards right now. The food that we prepare in the kitchen for the children or together with the children in the classroom also tells the story of who we are. These simple, prepared-from-scratch foods take into consideration the ethnicity of children and their families, the faculty and the chef.  In this way, food can tell the story of families, cultures and history.

Chef Katrina Morkner

Katrina has been in the early care and educational field since 2003 as both a professional chef and an educator. As chef to the PACCC family of children she created a healthy, ethnically diverse, and organically rich lunch program. Then, she served as the Bon Appétit chef to the Google family of children where she created and implemented an integrated food program that is local, seasonal, nutrient dense, and organically rich. With more than 1,000,000 meals behind her, she is a recognized expert on feeding infants, toddlers, preschoolers—and those who care for them.

In 2010, Katrina began her early childhood nutrition consulting work.  She brings her knowledge of both culinary arts and gardening into the classroom to support children’s curiosity about math and science concepts while simultaneously fostering healthy eating habits. Her unique background allows her to effectively develop this type of cross-disciplinary curriculum and train of educators on its implementation in their schools. In addition to food curriculum, she also helps schools and administrators develop and implement site-wide food policies and nutrition plans. 

While at PACCC, Katrina begin partnering with families challenged by food sensitivities and allergies, and continued this at Google. In 2012, she began consulting privately to families that needed specialized dietary advice.

Katrina completed ECE teaching requirements at Foothill College, and received her MA at Mills College School of Education in the Early Childhood Leadership Program in 2011. While at Mills she created a model for obesity prevention in early learning. Her obesity prevention model is supported by educational theory and current obesity research, and embraces agrarian thinking.

A popular presenter, Katrina speaks at professional conferences, and gives talks to educators. Her ongoing parent education talks cover a variety of topics, including creating healthy lunches, family food traditions, and how parents can build healthy eating habits.

In the winter of 2015, Katrina began teaching at Mission College as an associate faculty chef instructor in the Hospitality Management Department.  She was motivated to do this after being contracted by several programs to assist them in hiring a chef for their ECE food programs.  At Mission, she is enjoying learning alongside her college students, creating a bridge between them and the healthy foodies of the future!