Growing up on a farm in the Alps, Nora Pouillon was surrounded by fresh food and delicious produce and meats that had never been touched by artificial pesticides or hormones. When she and her husband moved to the U.S. in the 1960s, she was horrified to discover a food culture dominated by hormone-bloated meat and unseasonal vegetables. The distance between good, healthy produce and what even the top restaurants were serving was enormous.

Determined to make a difference, first as a teacher and then as the country’s premiere organic restaurateur, Pouillon charted a path to change our relationship with what we eat. In 1979, she opened Restaurant Nora, which in 1999 became the first certified organic restaurant in the country.

Spanning the last forty years of our culinary history, My Organic Life: How a Pioneering Chef Helped Shape the Way We Eat Today tells the story of the natural foods pioneer who, earlier than anyone else, made it her mission to bring organic foods to the American table.

Pouillon also initiated DC’s first producer-only farmer’s market, FRESHFARM Markets, which now includes eleven markets in the metropolitan area. In conversation with Nancy McKeon, who is a co-editor of FW and in her 20 years with The Washington Post served as editor of magazine features and of the Food, Real Estate, and Sunday Business sections. Book signing to follow.