Lynne Curry grew up in New England, tasted and rejected a fashion journalism career in New York City, and moved to the Pacific Northwest “for the summer” in 1989.

She landed on Lummi Island off the Washington coast where the traditions of sustainable fishing, organic gardening, and canning were the way of life, and supported herself as a cook at The Willows Inn. She eventually pursued professional culinary training in Seattle, receiving scholarships from the International Association of Culinary Professionals and Women Chefs & Restaurateurs for advanced study in France and New York. Working at The Herbfarm restaurant fully rooted her in the principles of seasonal and local cooking.

In 2001, Lynne moved inland to Oregon’s Wallowa Valley, where her husband, Benjamin, grew up on a wheat farm. Drawn in by the region’s deep-seated food traditions, she founded the local Slow Food chapter and works as a private chef, cooking teacher and product consultant. Her syndicated blog, ruraleating.com, details a lifestyle of mindful, seasonal cooking, foraging and food preserving.

Lynne’s first cookbook, Pure Beef: An Essential Guide to Artisan Meat with Recipes for Every Cut (Running Press) was published on May 15. It chronicles her experiences living among ranchers and learning how to cook grassfed beef with 140 recipes. 

Lynne is a James Beard Journalism Award nominee who has published articles and recipes in many regional and national publications, including Saveur, Los Angeles Times, Relish, and Fine Cooking, and is a frequent contributor to The Oregonian food section. Her food essays have appeared in Tin House and The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, and she has served as a James Beard Cookbook Awards judge. Read more of her writing at lynnecurry.com.

Lynne lives in a renovated 100-year-old house in Joseph, Oregon with Benjamin, a poet and writer, and their two little girls. She blogs at Rural Eating.