Meet The Instructors
Ann Marie Rideout, owner
Ann Marie lusts over her next food experience, all of her memories are all linked to food. With the support of her wonderful husband, family and friends, her dream is now a reality. She is venturing out on her own endeavor to share her love and exuberance towards eating and living well. Ann Marie loves to be creative with food and she also loves feeding people. She and her family also love to travel and Ann Marie is fascinated how food crosses cultural barriers and has been bringing people together for centuries. The way to her heart is definitely through her belly. Ann Marie has a B. A. Sc. in Nutrition from the University of Guelph and has spent over 12 years working within the food industry, 7 of that in product development.
Well Fed studio hosts some pretty amazing local talent. Here’s a few of our regulars…
Rachel Austin Attie
Rachel is a working chef who enjoys entertaining and is intrigued by all aspects of food. She started her food journey 15 years ago going to Le Cordon Bleu Cooking school (graduated top 3 in her class) and then Dubrulle. She has worked in some of the best fine dining restaurants in the city including Lumiere, C and Raincity Grill. She also has worked in the film industry, managed large production kitchens, and catered parties large and small. All this has given her a wide breadth of experience in all styles of cooking. Rachel’s enthusiasm for life and food is very evident when she is speaking about all things entertainment related. Rachel is a mother of a 6 year old and understands the pressure to be all things to everyone. Her goal is to help make entertaining easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved.
Mike Nassichuk
Mike claims he was raised in a vegetable patch and credits his parents as being his foremost vegetable gardening teachers. He is a UBC graduate with degrees in Biology (B.Sc. and M.Sc.) which provide a scientific context to his gardening interests. He is a Certified Master Gardener (since 1988) and has also completed the Advanced Master Gardener program. Mike has grown vegetables for over 20 years and has given numerous presentations, seminars and clinics on growing vegetables and other gardening topics to garden clubs and other groups. He also teaches the “Growing Vegetables” course within the Master Gardener program. He received the VanDusen Garden ‘Award of Distinction’ in 2001. Mike recently retired from the federal government where he was the Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Branch at Environment Canada. Mike now runs his own gardening company—Mountainside Gardening and still enjoys doing environmental consulting.
Kristen Yarker
Kristen transforms picky eaters into food-confident kids. And she makes mealtime the quality family time that parents desire (with less struggle, time, and energy). Kristen has been a registered dietitian for 8 years and is a picky eater turned food-lover herself. Via group presentations and personalized in-home sessions, Kristen offers her unique combination of up-to-date nutrition evidence, tried-and-tested feeding techniques, and uncanny ability to see what the food struggles are really about.