Jessica Anne Hendrick founded LOVAGE International Culinary and Language Arts in 2012.
She has a Masters in Bilingual and Multicultural Education from the University of Alcalá, a Bachelors degree from University of California, Berkeley and holds a Culinary Degree from Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts.
Jessica began her career as a Personal Chef while living as an au pair with Italian families in Bologna, Bergamo, Tuscany and Puglia. For three years she taught English to emerging bilingual children and learned the secrets of Italian home cooking. Upon return to California, she became an Italian-speaking caretaker for toddlers and an Assistant Teacher for an Italian pre-school program in Berkeley called "Mondo Bambini." She then continued her work as an English Language Arts teacher at Sikkim Himalayan Academy, a K-5 charter school in India, as part of her undergraduate senior thesis project at the University of California, Berkeley.
Following culinary school, Jessica was quite successful in the famous San Francisco restaurant industry, eventually becoming the Catering and Events Director for a "Top 100" restaurant and a Preferred Caterer, Event Chef and Manager for the British Consulate General of San Francisco. She served the Consulate General for two administrations at their private residence, head office and at offsite events. Additionally she co-founded the ARTE Y TAPAS Performance Series, curating dozens of events annually offering delicious food, live performances and visual art exhibitions.
Jessica is also a professional Cheesemonger hailing from famous San Francisco Bay Area institutions Cowgirl Creamery, Fatted Calf Charcuterie and Cheese Plus. Jessica studied cheesemaking with Sasha Laurin, Lead Cheesemaker of Winters Cheese Company. She also studied the Art of Cheese Selection with Betty Kostner of L'Amuse Fromagerie and the Essex Street Cheese team at the Cheese School of San Francisco. Jessica makes her own crème fraîche, feta, marscapone, farmer's cheese, and soft-ripened cheeses.
In addition to offering private kids cooking and cheesemaking classes for over a decade, she served three years as the Food Coordinator and Chef of the SFMT Youth Theater Project, an afterschool program for San Francisco Bay Area at-risk youth.
Jessica specializes in early language education and culinary arts education for emerging bilinguals. She was an assistant teacher of English Language Arts, Social Science, Natural Science, Art Practice and Health Education as part of her Masters practicum at the University of Alcalá in a bilingual primary school for 1st and 2nd grade students in the Community of Madrid. In Fall 2022 she will pursue graduate level specialization in bilingual education with Comillas Pontifical University and assistant teach at the pre-school level in the historic town of Aranjuez.
Jessica authored a groundbreaking dual-language curriculum design for Spanish-speaking children in California which combines culinary arts, health and bilingual education enrichment. This curriculum design was originally submitted as her Masters thesis at the University of Alcalá in June of 2022 and received the highest possible accolades; it is due to be published as a public resource for California educators in early 2023. Jessia is also the author of "The International Kitchen," a humble blog where she shares her favorite recipes, ingredients and travel stories from around the world.
Jessica currently offers private classes in Culinary and Language Arts available in English, Italian and Spanish. She also hosts private events and offers custom-designed travel chef services worldwide. She is also available as a professional and educational consultant for curriculum design and development of early bilingual education, culinary arts courses, culinary event production and sustainable seed-to-table menu design.
Jessica was born and raised on occupied Gabrieleño/Tongva territory in Southern California, and spent many years in San Francisco on native Ramaytush Ohlone land. She currently resides in the historic neighborhood of Lavapiés in the heart of central Madrid, a mecca for lovers of food, art, language and culture on the beautiful Iberian penninsula.