Hi there! I’m Riley Thompson, a 40-year-old self-taught cook living just outside of Asheville, New York, where the air smells like pine trees and barbecue smoke depending on the time of year. I never went to culinary school, never apprenticed under a Michelin-starred chef—but if you open my fridge or peek into my spice drawer, you’ll find the story of how I fell head-over-heels in love with cooking.
Growing up, food wasn’t fancy. My mom worked double shifts as a nurse, and dinner was often whatever she could throw together fast: grilled cheese, boxed mac and cheese, tuna casseroles. But every Saturday morning, like clockwork, we’d bake banana bread together. It was our ritual—flour on our shirts, batter in our hair, the kitchen a total mess. That banana bread wasn’t just a snack. It was comfort, connection, joy. I think that’s where the seed was planted.
I didn’t seriously start cooking until my mid-twenties. I was working a corporate job I didn’t love, living off takeout and frozen meals, when one night I tried to recreate my mom’s banana bread out of pure homesickness. It was lumpy and underbaked—and I loved every second of making it. From there, I started messing around in the kitchen: first pasta, then stir-fry, then Thanksgiving dinner for six (which, by the way, I completely burned). I’ve had just as many flops as I’ve had wins, and I’m proud of every single one. That’s how you learn.
Now, I spend most of my days working part-time at a local co-op and the rest in my cozy kitchen, guiding new cooks—people just like you—through those early, sometimes intimidating steps of learning how to feed yourself with love and a little flair. My philosophy is simple: start where you are, use what you have, and never be afraid to mess up. Some of my best dishes came from so-called “mistakes.”
I’m not into perfection. I’m into real food, made with your hands and heart. Whether it’s your first time boiling pasta or you’re figuring out how to make soup that doesn’t taste like bathwater (been there!), I’m here for it. Cooking isn’t about impressing anyone—it’s about discovering what flavors make you feel at home.
So come hang out. Let’s burn a few things, laugh a lot, and slowly, surely, build your kitchen confidence together. If you’ve got a wooden spoon and a little curiosity, you’re already halfway there.
Let me know if you’d like to tweak their age, location, or style—or even have a photo-style image created of Chef Riley!