Smiling chef with apples and pears

Culinary Roots and Catering Catering Philosophy

Expressing love through food is what Gwen Kenneally has been serving up bountifully for decades. Founder and executive chef of Back to the Kitchen, she helms the full-service catering company that specializes in creating memorable menus for events that are enticing, innovative, and very much homemade.

  • Gwen first started tinkering in the kitchen as a young child.
  • She cooked with her grandmothers and her great aunts.
  • She cooked with family friends.
  • She even cooked for friends.
  • And early on, she realized the gift that is gratifying food and the virtue of keeping alive family recipes and traditions very much, even when trends looked elsewhere for inspiration.
  • The further these trends stepped away from the comforts of traditions, the more hours Gwen would spend in the kitchen, conjuring new flavor profiles and approaches to satisfy the curious while still bringing tried, true, and beloved offerings to the mix.

A Life of Service Through Food

A former actor, Gwen is a chef, a single mom, a pie baker, and a formidable knitter. Her life started to congeal over a decade ago when she became a licensed spiritual practitioner. “I’m a chef by trade,” she said, “but my life's work is as a practitioner, and ironically, most of my clients don’t even know that part about me.” They just sense that there is something magical about her cuisine and how she shows up to her events.

  • Whether cooking for her beloved Agape community and Rev. Michael Beckwith, for celebrities on movie sets, billionaire venture capitalists in their homes, or creating mouthwatering soups for the homeless, her food nourishes the body, mind, and spirit.
  • She brings her own unique recipes to all she does and makes sure that no matter the preferences or proclivities, there is abundance for all.
Woman cooking in a professional kitchen
Colorful cake and savory bites

From Recipes to Published Works

For years, whenever her food and people met, she was swamped with requests for recipes. She started writing her recipes and telling her stories of changing a culinary nightmare into a signature dish. By adding these personal failures, readers learned from her mistakes and triumphs to create the confidence to explore their own creative additions to recipes. She authored a weekly food column for Sun Community Newspapers and wrote a weekly recipe column and weekend cocktail column at mydailyfind.com. She has been sharing these recipes and her passion for food on several television shows as well.

  • Her first book, The Sweet and Savory Cookbook, was released in 2012 and was followed by The Lotus Kitchen, Everyday Vegetarian Recipes to Nourish Yoga Practice and Inspire Mindful Eating in the fall of 2015.
  • Summer 2020 sees the release of her “PLANTASTIC-PLANT POWERED RECIPES FOR A HEALTHIER YOU, AND A HAPPIER YOU.”
  • Her fourth collaboration with publishing house Huqua Press will be released in the fall - The Inclusive Table.

Bring a Memorable Menu to Your Next Event

From decades of culinary tradition to thoughtfully crafted menus and published recipes, every dish is created with heart, creativity, and care.