Currents Magazine Winter 2015

ecome her own private farm. She bought some
goats to clear the land, planted some vegetable beds,
added a vineyard and a chicken coup, restored a hidden
fruit orchard and brought in a pet pig named
Arnold.
As her private farm grew, friends would ask her to
host cooking classes where they would pick fresh
fruits and vegetables from the property to make a
unique farm-to-fork meal.
“My cooking class had a rule … it had to be fun for
me,” said Henderson, who developed the class into
a unique exploration of simple, organic meals. She
shunned developing recipes beforehand and instead
looked for in-the-moment inspiration in the garden
to create the meal for the day, blogging about it afterward
for those interested in recreating what they
learned.
“Everything just grew from that point on, and suddenly
it was 20 people taking the class, then 100
people taking the class, then people calling in saying
they’re coming in from New York asking how they
can take the class,” Henderson said.
The classes turned into hosted
dinner events around Malibu,
allowing guests to try a number of
dishes tied in to local organic foods —
dishes designed around fresh produce found at
a number of farms in the community. The growing
popularity of these events brought Henderson to
the attention of the master
concessionaire for the Malibu
Pier, who offered Henderson
the opportunity to host a
pop-up style dining experience
in the historic space.
“It required a lot of work,” said Henderson,
who had to redesign the entire location and reacquire
the necessary permits to get the old structure
at the end of the pier in working condition. “It was
me and two Pepperdine students and two line cooks
who we hired … people were laughing. The rent was
super low because even the landlord was laughing,”
Henderson admitted.
But it worked. Henderson brought in produce
picked fresh from her own farm to cook the meals.
As business grew, she partnered with local growers
to supply the demand, sticking to her belief in only
sourcing local, fresh and organic foods.
“My philosophy for any food is just to keep it as simple
as possible,” Henderson said. “I don’t like things
that are over thought … my basic thought is to just
get a really good piece of chicken … or a really good
tomato and do nothing to it.”
Henderson is a strong believer in producing quality
food, allowing natural flavors to take center stage.
No additives, no processing, no freezing — just real,
fresh food.
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