“Bev’s culinary style is no-nonsense, unintimidating, and always sprinkled with humor. She has the uncanny ability to turn complex culinary techniques into practical, everyday baking strategies—empowering her readers to apply this knowledge to brownies and beyond!”
—Melissa Ohlson, registered dietitian, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Bev Shaffer is an author, food writer, and culinary instructor, as well as the director of Mustard Seed Market and Café Cooking Schools in Akron and Solon, Ohio. Her weekly column “Ask Bev” in the Cleveland Plain Dealer food section, Taste, and her weekly radio spot on Akron, Ohio’s WAKR’s “Morning Drive Time” feature her signature humor and her uncanny ability to create uncomplicated recipes and calm food and cooking phobias.
She has developed more than eight thousand recipes on a wide variety of subjects, including seafood, sides and grains, and desserts and has received many national and local commendations and more than one hundred cooking awards, including the Ohio Dietetic Association Outstanding Contribution Award.
Chef Shaffer’s award-winning Double-Chocolate Raspberry Tart has been featured in Chocolatier magazine, and she has been a chef in residence on www.vanilla.com.
A member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and Chefs Collaborative, Chef Shaffer is also a founding member of Les Dames d'Escoffier, Cleveland-Northeastern Ohio Chapter.
In demand as a public speaker and culinary instructor, Chef Shaffer teaches cooking classes for local cancer recovery centers, high schools, and in collaboration with institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Botanical Gardens, Akron General Health & Wellness Center, and Cleveland Healthspace Museum. Chef Shaffer also hosts “Bev’s Kitchen” on Cleveland’s WCLV.
Born and raised in North Brunswick, New Jersey, Chef Shaffer has been an Ohio resident since 1977