About

MY NAME IS Becky

I spent my childhood collecting ramps, gardening, hunting, and homesteading with my family in central West Virginia. I moved to Athens, OH for high school, graduated from Ohio University, then made my way to the Pacific Northwest to attend culinary school at the Art Institute of Portland. From there, I sought out internship opportunities to refine my butchery and culinary skills. These experiences took me to Cure, where I was taken under the wing of award-winning chef and salumist, Justin Severino. Later I ran the protein program at Bar Marco under Chef Jamilka Borges. After several years, I felt the pull to return home to Athens County and my family. I knew that I wanted to bring my abilities and passion for food home, and began working on a concept that I hoped would benefit my community. Before settling in to Athens, I did some traveling and took a cross-country bicycle ride - which gave me a lot of time to think - and the idea of Pork & Pickles was born.

Pork & Pickles was my first business, a butcher shop and pickle line without a storefront. I learned by trial and error and a lot of research how to open an LLC, navigate a whole lot of red tape, and bring my butchery skills to the people of Southeast Ohio, even tho everyone told me it wouldn’t work, and I was wasting my time and money.

Under the Pork & Pickle LLC I opened my first restaurant and grew my company to 10 employees in 2.5 years, and eventually sold that restaurant in 2020.

Pork & Pickles has morphed from a full-fledged product line and restaurant with 10+ employees to a brand that gives Becky the opportunity to engage with her community on many different levels; non-profit work, business consulting, freelance marketing, teaching, private chef work, and mentoring of younger cooks.

In 2019 The Athens Area Chamber of Commerce named me Athens Young Professional of the Year for my work with Pork & Pickles.

All the while Pork & Pickles was doing it’s thing I acted as the Executive Chef at Little Fish Brewing Company. I came on as a consultant to the company to assist them with opening their first kitchen, but ended up staying for nearly 5 years as their Executive Chef. This role awarded me the opportunity to work alongside the owners to design, build, and open a second location in Dayton, OH.

We opened that location in 2022, and in the winter of 2023 I was honored to receive a nomination for Semi-Finalist Best Chef Great Lakes by the esteemed James Beard Foundation.

I recently stepped away from my beloved role and handed the reigns of EC over to my longtime Sous Chefs Zach Morgan (Dayton location) and Jennifer Sartwell (Athens location).

I currently sit on the Community Food Initiatives Board, and is an avid supporter of many local organizations such as Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, the Athens Farmers Market, and The Good Cheer FoodBank on Whidbey Island, WA.

I now resides on the idyllic Whidbey Island outside of Seattle, Washington. I’m expanding my food foraging knowledge to include the Pacific Northwestern forests, the coast, and the sea.

While not at work you can find me trail running with my dogs (Pippy and Woody), cycling, gardening, cooking and eating with my husband, Chris, or spending time with my family and friends, and cat, Bernie.

recipes

Black Eyed Peas with Ham Hock and Collards

Ingredients:

• 2 # dried black eyed peas

• 1 large ham hock

• 1 cured and smoked pork trotter

• 4 bunches of collard greens, chopped

• 1 t salt, plus more to taste

• 1 large onion, medium diced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 6 bay leaves

• 1 bunch scallions, chopped, to garnish

• crushed red pepper and black pepper, TT

Method:

• Pick through the beans for stones, rinse them thoroughly and soak in water overnight. (Leave soaking until ready to cook).

• Add the hock, 1 t of salt, and the bay leaves.

• Strain the peas and fill the pot with fresh water, covering the peas by 2”. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cover and let simmer approximately 3-4 hours until ham hock is falling off the bone and beans are soft.

• While it's cooking check the liquid level in the pot every hour or so, and add hot water as needed to barely cover the beans.

• 1 hour before the beans are done, saute onion and garlic in a large pot for approximately 4 minutes. Add the chopped collards. Scoop 1/2 cup of the bean liquid from the pot and add in. Stir and cover. Simmer on low to break the collards down in size.

• Add everything from the collard pot into the bean pot. Stir well. Continue cooking.

• When beans are tender and hock is falling apart remove from heat, and spoon out the hock onto a plate or sheet tray. Let cool until you can touch it and then pick the meat off of them. Return meat to the pot of beans and stir well.

• Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Chef Becky’s Mom’s Pork Dumplings

To make the dumplings you will need:
•8 dried shiitake mushrooms
•1 pound ground pork
•1/4 cup green onions (chopped)
•1 egg white
•2 tbsp cornstarch
•2 tsp salt
•2 tsp soy sauce
•1 tsp sesame oil
•40 wonton wrappers

-Soak mushrooms for 20 minutes. Chop finely after hydrated.
-Mix mushrooms with pork, green onions, egg white, cornstarch, salt, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil.
-Hold wonton wrapper in your hand and place 1 tbsp pork mixture in center of wonton. Bring the edges of the wonton up over the wonton and leave the top open.
-Place dumplings in a single layer in a steamer over boiling water for 20 minutes.

To make a homemade dipping sauce for your dumplings you will need:
•1/4 cup of soy sauce
•1/2 tsp of sesame oil
•1 clove of garlic (chopped)
•1 piece of fresh ginger (chopped)
•1 green onion (chopped)

-Finely chop your garlic, fresh ginger, and green onion, then mix in a bowl with the soy sauce and sesame oil. Dip your dumplings and enjoy!

NOTE: Pairs well with Sake or a light beer such as the “Come at me Beau” Pilsner from Little Fish Brewing Company

Spare Rib Peanut Sauce

You will need:
•2 half racks of spare ribs
•1/2 cup crunchy organic peanut butter
•2 tbsp soy sauce
•1 tbsp brown sugar
•1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
•2 tbsp fish sauce
•1-3 tbsp Gochujang Korean chili paste (based on your preferred level of spiciness)

-Blend together the peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, fish sauce, and chili paste in a blender or food processor.
-Pour sauce over spare ribs before grilling and enjoy!

NOTE: Pairs well with a glass of Pinot Noir