On the chilly mornings of the Napa Truffle Festival’s Wild Mushroom Forays, Chef Jodie Rubin warmed everyone up with her tasty truffle quiche. “It was absolutely yummy,” said one happy forager. “What a way to start a mushroom hunt!”

“It’s super easy to make,” says Chef Jodie. “The kale and Fontina cheese make it hearty, and the fresh black truffle gives it a world of depth and flavor.”

Determined to learn the food industry inside and out, Jodie Rubin, originally from Boston, chose vocational school over regular high school so that she could pursue her interest in the food and restaurant industry. Her culinary career has allowed her to explore every angle, from traveling across country working for a company that made industrial food processing machinery, to launching a food delivery business for over 55 restaurants in the Reno, Nevada area.

Jodie’s curiosity and love of delicious cuisine led her across Spain, France and Italy, and finally on to the epicenter of the Farm-to-Table movement in California wine country. She worked for Cowgirl Creamery in nearby Point Reyes, which provided her with entry into northern California’s diverse, organic, sustainable food community. As chef at Tomales Bay Food Cantina, she interacted with the local food community – farmers, fishermen, ranchers, cheese makers and chefs.

Influenced by the late and celebrated M.F.K. Fisher, one of the leading luminaries in the culinary world, Jodie was delighted to be among the featured chefs who prepared food for “First Meal Last House,” a fundraiser to restore Fisher’s home in Glen Ellen, California.

Currently, Jodie works with Davis Estates in Calistoga as a chef and social media marketing coordinator, and consults for some of the leading chefs, wineries and event teams in United States. Recently, she appeared on Guy’s Grocery Games and Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.

In addition to juggling her professional responsibilities, Jodie volunteers, mentoring teenagers and making meals for people with serious illnesses, pitching in at a volunteer food bank, and maintaining a Facebook news page she created for her coastal community, read by 185,000 people monthly.

Truffle Quiche with potatoes, kale and Fontina cheese recipe