About Us

Bringing back pizza making from "freshman" year.

Freshman (Sophomore for April) year of college the four of us met. Living only a couple doors down the hallway from each other, it was hard not to. We'd say living on the same floor of Smith Hall was destiny. Today, still at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers!), all the studying, working, paper writing, and textbook reading couldn't keep us from each other or our love for food. 

Tailgating before the game against Ohio State, 2010.
From left to right: Brittany, April, Emily, and Kelsey.

Although none of our majors reflect food in any way, we still love to cook, bake, and eat our creations (with the help of our roommates, of course). Even on a college budget and schedule, we like to experiment with all different foods, while still keeping our individual styles of cooking.

April

I love everything about food. I love to talk about food. I love eating and cooking food. My life revolves around food. While I eat lunch, I think about what I should eat for dinner. It is kind of a problem. I learned everything I know from my mom. She went through all sorts of cooking phases growing up, from super gourmet to Chinese everything.  The gourmet part is what comes through in my cooking, but gourmet doesn't have to mean fancy or complicated. Although, I sometimes make food and cooking a bit more complicated than it needs to be, but it is usually worth it and fun. Sometimes that extra effort can go a long way too.  Other times I like to jazz up classic recipes and make them feel special, by adding a unexpected or special ingredient. It is a really easy way to impress your family and friends or make them feel special, with little extra effort.

This blog has been a really fun way to challenge myself to create my own recipes and share them with other people. Food is more about those that you share and enjoy it with than the food itself. I love cooking and testing things out on my family and friends and being able to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Follow me on Instagram @badgerkitchen

Brittany

I have always loved food, but who hasn't?! Since I was little, I loved to eat food, go grocery shopping, and be the baker's helper in the kitchen. However, I really became interested in cooking once I started watching Food Network shows in high school. They're my favorite now! And once I moved into an apartment, it gave me my first chance to experiment with food. I love to test and expand my cooking skills with unique recipes but I also love making my family favorites. So, I guess you could say my cooking style is family comfort food with an asterisks next to it. With Badger Kitchen, I'm excited to share family recipes and new recipes I find in cookbooks, websites, and other food blogs. I'm also excited to improve my food photography (so bear with me as my pictures may not be foodgawker worthy for awhile).

Kelsey

 Cooking did not become an interest of mine until sophomore year of college when I finally lived in an apartment of my own and was responsible for feeding myself.  I do not have the most experience cooking besides simple baked goods, and I did not grow up eating a wide variety of foods, so every new recipe, spice, or other ingredient I use is a learning experience for me.  I would consider myself to be more of a homestyle cook and a baker, but as I continue to learn, I know I will broaden my cooking horizons!  As I've become a working professional, I'm trying to incorporate more meals that are easy to prepare quickly after work, which means a lot more slow cooking and freezer meals, or basically anything that can be prepared ahead of time.  I'm constantly working on finding the perfect balance between healthy recipes and the occasional indulgence.  Hopefully you will see this reflected in my recipes!  Feel free to keep in touch on Twitter (@kraespencer) and Instagram (@krspencer2).

Trying to get in touch?  Shoot us an e-mail at badgerkitchen.blog@gmail.com