Stefan Milne came to cooking the long way, almost by accident. He grew up in the woods outside of Seattle, picking cherries from the garden and reading compulsively. He got an M.A. in literature and took a dishwashing job at the Dahlia Lounge, writing fiction in his spare time. He learned that he loved being in a kitchen, so eventually worked his way up to line cooking.

He went on to work at Sitka & Spruce, Damn the Weather, and Restaurant Homer, while writing about food and drink on the side. For several years, he was the arts editor at Seattle Met magazine. He loves to cook cabbage, beans, dumplings, seafood, and central European food, and when he’s not hunched over a stove or text document, he can be found outdoors — hiking, running, and foraging.