Meet the Speakers
Meet the fermentation experts who will be sharing their knowledge at Fermentation Summit 2026.
“We all want to do it ALL, but trying to do everything is a recipe for disaster. Have a go at one thing at a time. Concentrate on it until you have it down, then move on.”
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Alison Kay is a food writer, teacher, and podcaster who brings the wisdom of ancestral foods into modern kitchens in a joyful, practical way so you can be inspired, learn without overwhelm, and make traditional foods part of your own life.
She co-created and co-hosts the crowd-funded Ancestral Kitchen Podcast, teaches traditional fermentation techniques, and is currently writing a book about historic British oat recipes.
Discover more by searching for Ancestral Kitchen in your favorite podcast app.
Explore Alison’s online courses
“We all want to do it ALL, but trying to do everything is a recipe for disaster. Have a go at one thing at a time. Concentrate on it until you have it down, then move on.”
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Anja Eckert is the founder of Our Gabled Home, a heritage baking and German cooking brand rooted in 40 years of family tradition.
Born and raised in Germany, she now shares authentic sourdough recipes and a practical, no-discard, no-measure approach to sourdough rooted in the way her grandparents baked with home cooks around the world.
Anja is the author of Sourdough Simplified, creator of Super Simple Sourdough, and founder of The Heritage Kitchen Table, a community devoted to heritage baking, cooking, confidence, and connection.
Explore Anja’s book, Sourdough Simplified, and online courses
“There are no mistakes in my kitchen, or in my life, only learning experiences.”
“Start with untreated vegetables and fruit, then give fermentation the patience it needs to develop its full flavor, complexity, and character.“
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Barbara is a Berlin-based fermentation expert who has spent more than 12 years teaching workshops, leading tastings, giving lectures, and writing about fermentation.
Fascinated by the diversity of flavors fermentation creates, she explores traditional techniques from food cultures around the world, including Georgia, China, Cambodia, and Africa.
She is the author of a fermentation brochure published by Slow Food Germany and offers workshops and events in German, English, Italian, and French.
“Start with untreated vegetables and fruit, then give fermentation the patience it needs to develop its full flavor, complexity, and character.“
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Céline is a fermentation educator based in the Netherlands with nearly 20 years of hands-on experience and an engineering background.
She believes fermentation isn’t about making one perfect jar of sauerkraut—it’s about creating a way of eating that naturally includes a diversity of fermented foods.
As the mother of two children (ages 7 and 10), she has developed practical ways to weave fermented vegetables, sourdough bread, yogurt, kefir, and other ferments into everyday family meals. Her approach combines scientific understanding with realistic, everyday cooking.
“The best ferment isn’t the most impressive one—it’s the one you actually enjoy and eat regularly. Keep it simple and make it part of everyday meals.”
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Cheryl Paswater is the Chief Fermentationist of Contraband Ferments, a Functional Medicine Practitioner, and a Microbiome Clinical Specialist.
She has contributed to publications including Edible Magazine, Miso, Tempeh, Natto, and Our Fermented Lives, and teaches fermentation and health through workshops, online classes, and festivals around the world.
Cheryl divides her time between Brooklyn and Atlanta with her partner, her dog, and her cat, Koji—meaning “moldy rice”—and an ever-growing collection of microbial pets (aka bacteria, yeast, and mold).
“Don’t be afraid to just play. Experimentation is everything!“
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Chef Connor Flynn is a chef, educator, and food preservation expert who helps people reconnect with traditional food skills through practical, approachable teaching.
As founder of The Preserving Chef, he teaches canning, fermentation, sourdough, dehydrating, and seasonal preservation to home cooks across Canada and beyond.
Connor is also a passionate advocate for Canadian agriculture and local food systems, and the creator of World Ferment Day, a global celebration of fermented foods.
Explore Connor’s online courses
“Fermentation isn’t about perfection, it’s about understanding the process and letting nature do the work.”
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David Levitsky is a fermentation educator, recipe developer, and founder of BrineLab. Through his videos and educational programs, he has helped millions of people learn how to confidently ferment foods at home using practical, repeatable methods.
Known for his approachable teaching style and focus on flavor-driven fermentation, David specializes in helping home fermenters move beyond basic recipes and understand the systems that create consistent results.
When he’s not teaching fermentation, David can usually be found testing new recipes, developing educational content, and exploring traditional food preservation methods from around the world.
Explore David’s online courses
“Fermentation isn’t about following instructions perfectly. It’s about creating the right environment and letting the microbes do the work.”
“Jun is its own culture, not simply kombucha made with green tea and honey, so give it what it prefers: quality green tea, real honey, and a slightly cooler brewing temperature. Resist the urge to overcomplicate the process; taste often and let the culture teach you.”
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Hannah Ruhamah Crum is a fermentation educator, author, and founder of Kombucha Kamp.
Known to many as “The Kombucha Mamma,” she has spent more than two decades helping revive traditional fermentation practices through education, consulting, and community building.
Hannah is the co-author of The Big Book of Kombucha and works with everyone from home brewers to commercial fermentation brands, blending science, tradition, and practical experience to make fermentation approachable, empowering, and deeply rooted in culture.
Explore Hannah’s online courses
“Jun is its own culture, not simply kombucha made with green tea and honey, so give it what it prefers: quality green tea, real honey, and a slightly cooler brewing temperature. Resist the urge to overcomplicate the process; taste often and let the culture teach you.”
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Holly Davis is an Australian wholefood educator, author, and cook who champions thoughtful ways to source, prepare, and enjoy balanced meals, including fermented foods, so that the choices we make help create a better future for us all.
She has taught thousands through in-person and online classes, her own restaurants, and a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Scotland. Holly is the author of Nourish and Ferment, which has been published in five languages, including Korean, which tickles her pink!
Explore Holly’s book, Ferment: A guide to the ancient art of making cultured foods, and online courses
“Ferments are condiments, which make everything you eat them with sing a happy tune! Little and often is always best and making a variety of ferments and cultures makes that simple.”
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Holly Howe is a fermentation teacher, author of Mouthwatering Sauerkraut [+Kimchi], founder of MakeSauerkraut.com, and host of the Fermentation Summit.
Since making her first batch of sauerkraut in 2001, she has helped home fermenters build confidence through clear, practical, science-grounded instruction.
Her mission is to make fermentation feel simple, approachable, and delicious, so more people can experience the joy of transforming everyday ingredients into nourishing fermented foods, one jar at a time.
Explore Holly’s book, Mouthwatering Sauerkraut, and online courses
“Use a digital scale. Weighing your vegetables and salt gives the microbes the balanced home they need to do their work safely and successfully. Once that foundation is in place, you can relax, trust the process, and start getting creative with flavors, colors, and textures.”
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Karen Wang Diggs is a classically trained chef, nutritionist, and author of Happy Foods – Over 100 Mood Boosting Recipes (Published by Viva Editions).
Karen learned about the incredible health benefits of fermented foods and became obsessed with designing a fermentation system to encourage more people to make their own sauerkraut and pickles at home.
It was her obsession that led to the simple yet elegant Kraut Source – (aka The Little Fermenter), which enables fermentation in wide-mouth mason jars.
“Keep fermenting!”
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Katsu Lask is a Hamburg-based fermentista, author, and educator with two published books on fermentation and a third in progress. Combining hands-on craft, microbial science, and an engaging teaching style, she makes fermentation feel approachable and alive.
Her expertise spans lacto-fermented vegetables, wild ferments, koji, fermented beverages, and cooking with ferments.
She also collaborates with organic farms and regional growers, weaving seasonal ingredients and foraged wild herbs into a practice that feels both deeply traditional and relevant to modern kitchens.
Explore Katsu’s books, Die Fermenteküche, and Fermentation
“Create the perfect conditions, then relax and trust the process – the microbes know exactly what they’re doing!”
“Overnight Starter Cheat. For a faster sourdough starter, replace the water with a live-culture liquid such as kombucha, water kefir, dairy kefir, or thinned yogurt. You can also stir the powder from a probiotic capsule into the water. This can help your starter begin bubbling within 12–24 hours.“
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Rachel de Thample is an award-winning author who has worked in food, health, and sustainability for more than 25 years.
She teaches fermentation and gut health at River Cottage in Devon and has held leading roles with the College of Naturopathic Medicine, Abel & Cole, and Waitrose Food Illustrated.
Rachel has written eight books, including Tonics & Teas and the award-winning River Cottage Fermentation Handbook. Her latest book, The Fermentation Year, will be published by Bloomsbury in September 2026.
Explore Rachel’s book, The Fermentation Year, and courses
“Overnight Starter Cheat. For a faster sourdough starter, replace the water with a live-culture liquid such as kombucha, water kefir, dairy kefir, or thinned yogurt. You can also stir the powder from a probiotic capsule into the water. This can help your starter begin bubbling within 12–24 hours.”
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Dr. Tejas Sameer is an Integrative Ayurvedician, fermentista & holistic health specialist who blends classical Ayurvedic science with modern microbiome research.
She helps individuals, communities & busy professionals support gut, mind & mood, with FoodMedicine & practical daily rituals. Through Ayurveda-rooted, culturally aligned workshops, consults & content, she makes therapeutic‑grade fermented foods feel playful, approachable & deeply attuned with the gut‑brain axis.
“LoveThyselfLoveThyMicrobes”
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Utkarsh Dubey is a sourdough baker, fermenter, and culinary explorer with over 10 years of professional kitchen experience.
A self-proclaimed bookworm and kitchen scientist, he spends countless hours reading, researching, and experimenting with the microscopic magic of wild fermentation.
Utkarsh is especially interested in traditional Indian ferments, exploring how age-old regional techniques can be adapted for modern home kitchens while helping home cooks understand wild microbes, trust their senses, and ferment with confidence.
Explore Utkarsh’s book, Fizz And Ferment
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Vanessa Hargrove is a microbiome coach, fermentation teacher, and author based near Denver, Colorado. She shares practical ways to support gut health through traditional fermentation and everyday lifestyle practices.
Vanessa has spoken at the Weston A. Price Foundation conference and other wellness events and is the author of Homestead to Homestead.
Through her free TMT Tribe community, she offers live class replays on fermentation, microbiome health, and simple homesteading skills. She loves connecting with others curious about real food and natural wellness.
Explore Vanessa’s book, Homestead to Homestead, and online courses
“Keep trying! Sometimes ferments get weird, trust your gut, and don’t give up if the first one fails.”
