Meet The Team
RENANA SHVIL
Founder
Renana has been a cooking instructor for the past 15 years. She has also been a preschool teacher in a Montessori school in Brooklyn and in a preschool in Westchester. She brings with her the understanding of child development and the creative methods of educating young children. Food education has become a passion and mission for Renana. Talking with children about making healthier choices for meals and snacks, as they become older and more independent, should be a constant process. Children should be engaged in food preparation from start to finish; from bare ingredients to a finished product. In her lessons, Renana focuses on healthy and delicious ingredients, and familiarizes students with simple and natural ways of satisfying their appetite. Renana offers private or group lessons at home, after school programs, workshops for parents and teachers as well as birthday parties to children of all ages. In addition, she develops cooking curricula for schools and camps. In Spring of 2016 Renana opened the gates to her own kitchen at Fiddleheads Cooking Studio in Westchester, NY. Presently, Renana and the Fiddleheads team teach at Crawford Mansion, Chappaqua Community Center, Harrison Rec Center, Bedford Community House, Pound Ridge Rec Center, and a select schools in Westchetser and Fairfield Counties.
BRITTANY HRABCSAK
Chef Educator
Brittany is a recent graduate of Pace University’s MS in Nutrition and Dietetics program and a soon-to-be Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Her strong foundation in multiple facets of nutrition allows her to combine academic training with a deep passion for food education, bringing a thoughtful, joyful, and engaging approach to the kitchen. With hands-on experience leading cooking classes for children and developing nutrition-focused curricula, she brings a commitment to culinary creativity and evidence-based health practices. She has trained in clinical and pediatric nutrition, and her background spans everything from hospital care planning to engaging community cooking programs. Her mission is to make nutritious cooking fun, accessible, and meaningful for all ages. Whether she’s helping a child try a new ingredient or teaching the science behind balanced meals, Brittany aims to inspire confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong love of food.
SUZANNE KARMER PERRY
Chef Educator
Suzanne has always had a passion for cooking and she now has over 15 years’ experience in the culinary arts. She graduated from The French Culinary Institute in NYC (now The International Culinary Institute) and has worked in a variety of settings ranging from catering at Abigail Kirsh and Balducci‘s to working at smaller food establishments. She is currently a personal chef for multiple clients. Suzanne’s focus has always been centered around making delicious and healthy foods. She has utilized those skills to design menus for elite establishments such as the Rockland Country Day School and Breezemont Day Camp. Her concept was so popular at Breezemont that she was asked to redesign and run the specialty cooking program for all ages. Suzanne is thrilled to be a part of the Fiddlehead family! When she is not cooking, she is busy raising her 2 boys with her husband. She also has 2 cuddly but finicky Maine Coon cats.
CHRISTIANE STAMP
Chef Educator
Christiane Stamp has always loved cooking. In 2021, she started Annie’s Home Delivery, a local meal delivery service she dreamed up while commuting to the city every day and longing for healthy dinner options that weren’t takeout. Christiane went to the University of Central Florida and had a long career at JetBlue Airways in customer experience. She still does CX consulting for small and mid-size businesses. She is so excited to be teaching cooking to kids and spreading her love of food to the next generation. She has a 10 year old son who loves to cook and a husband who loves to eat. They live in North Salem with two Portuguese water dogs.
NANCY SILVER
Chef Educator
Nancy is a Chappaqua resident with her husband, Barrett, for over 29 years. She raised two children, Casey and Jake, here, who are fantastic and passionate cooks and bakers and most of their conversations and communication revolve around their favorite recipes and their love of good food. Nancy is currently a personal chef and long time caterer, and has worked in the school district teaching kids in the after school enrichment program and at Chappaqua Children’s Workshop. She also taught cooking for a few summers at Wagon Road Camp, which is a wonderful community locale, where she still works in their team building program. Nancy also is on the board of the Chappaqua Farmers Market, as well as on the Chappaqua Summer Scholarship Program, two organizations which have changed lives and made a huge impact on so many residents in town. Nancy Is happy to be a part of the Fiddleheads team and continue to share her knowledge and love for good food with kids and their families.
MICHELE WOLFSON BRODER
Chef Educator
Michele is a Certified Nutrition Specialist and longtime personal chef with over 15 years of experience helping families discover that healthy food can be both nourishing and delicious. She is also a mom of 2 who believes that vegetables deserve a starring role on every plate. She has spent years helping families explore food with curiosity, creativity, and joy. At Fiddleheads, Michele loves sparking that same sense of wonder in young cooks as they learn to chop, mix, taste, and grow their confidence in the kitchen.
ANNA ADLER
Consultant
Anna Adler (she/her) is an artist, teacher, mother, and community connector, functioning at the blurry intersection of life and art. She maintains an interdisciplinary creative practice of image and object making, teaching, and curating, along with a commitment to community building and organizing via Sing Sing Family Collective and (s)mother project. Anna has been teaching for 20+ years; she comes to Fiddleheads with a passion for process, play, food, art, and the natural world. Her work has been shown in a myriad of places and spaces, including NYC, Detroit, Prague, and Berlin, to name a few. @carefulstranger | annavictoriaadler.com
KATHERINE BURGESS
Assistant
Katherine is a Chappaqua resident of 11 years with her husband Peter and three kids. She has always had a love for cooking and baking, especially with her sons and daughter. She grew up all over the country and attended Boston College, majoring in communications. Katherine spent years working as a national tv news producer in both New York and Chicago, while writing a cooking blog and working on magazine articles on the side. She is thrilled to transition her career to helping give kids knowledge and confidence in the kitchen.
JENNIFER LOGAN
Chef Educator
After years of working in the corporate world at NBCUniversal and CBS, Jen is enjoying a new chapter that brings together two of her favorite things: cooking and working with children. She especially loves creating a fun, encouraging environment where young chefs can explore, learn, and build confidence in the kitchen. A longtime home cook and mother of two young daughters, Jen loves cooking with her children and teaching them that healthy choices can also be delicious. She enjoys visiting local farmers markets near her home in Croton Falls, NY and using fresh, seasonal ingredients to create healthy meals for her family. Jen is excited to bring her creativity and love of cooking to Fiddleheads, and to help children discover the joy of making food from scratch.
JESSICA TORTORA
Business Manager
Jessica Tortora is an avid food lover, recipe enthusiast and enjoys cooking with her two children. She is currently supporting the Chef and Culinary Nutrition Coordinator at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital Teaching Kitchen and Organic Garden. She has always been passionate about food and enjoys the meaningful connections, nourishment and joy that food fosters in people's lives. Jessica has 20 years of business experience at esteemed institutions like Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Mercer and Putnam Investments specializing in marketing, communications and the employee experience. She is now excited to transition into the culinary world to pursue her lifelong passion - helping children make more informed food choices using delicious farm-fresh ingredients. Jessica grew up in the Berkshires, Massachusetts, received a Bachelor of Science degree from Siena College and lives in Westchester with her husband and two daughters.
JULIA JOHNSON
Chef Educator
Julia is a graduate of Hamilton College and of the professional culinary program at the International Culinary Center. She started her career teaching elementary school at Greenwich Country Day School before pursuing her love of food professionally. Since then, she has worked at Martha Stewart Living as Chef Emeril Lagasse’s Brand Manager, in the test kitchen of Saveur Magazine as a recipe tester, in the kitchen of Sunday Suppers as the Head of Culinary Development, and has consulted for professional chefs and television hosts on Food Network and the Cooking Channel. She now does ongoing photography and recipe development projects for various food brands, works as a private chef, and teaches cooking classes. She is thrilled to be a part of the team at Fiddleheads Cooking Studio, where she combines her experiences in both elementary education and professional cooking.
NATASHA BRUNETTI
Chef Educator
Having been brought up with her grandma’s philosophy of food as medicine, Natasha has always had a passion for health and the culinary arts. She has been writing her plant-based blog (www.Planttotable.com) for over 15 years. In 2019 she qualified as an Ayurvedic Health Practitioner, in 2020 she participated in the Food Future Institute’s (FFI) Plant Based culinary program, in 2021 she completed her first book Legacy, on her grandmother’s heritage. Switching careers after 20 years in the corporate sector, she graduated from The Institute of Culinary Institute (ICE) in 2021, completing the health supportive culinary degree and worked as a chef for Divya’s Kitchen in Manhattan as well as on her latest book and culinary curriculum. She currently consults for Smart Moms Organics, a start-up children’s food delivery company. When she isn’t teaching, cooking or eating, she is working on her next Legacy project and spending time with her toddler son and husband in Westchester