Hello! My professional bio is listed below, but I thought you might like to know some personal details first!

I’m the mom of two daughters and ‘better half’ to a wonderful Frenchman named Philippe. We live in a suburb of Vancouver in the Pacific Northwest, and divide our time between Canada and Brittany (France). Much of my writing (mostly on food, families, and all things French) is inspired from the experience of living between these two cultures.

I grew up eating a ‘white bread’ diet and was a picky eater until my twenties. What changed? I started caring about food when our family moved to France for a year when my children were small. They started eating–and loving–foods like fish, broccoli, spinach, and even mussels and Roquefort cheese! Our entire family underwent a food revolution, and I was so inspired that I wrote a book (French Kids Eat Everything). 

Ever since, I’ve been on a quest to understand why and how picky eating can be cured–and prevented (the topic of my new book Getting to Yum). I love combining my scientific training together with my parenting experience!

Many thanks for visiting, and I’d love to hear your comments.

Professional bio

Karen is a Professor at the University of British Columbia, and a Rhodes Scholar with a PhD from Oxford. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Guardian, Sunday Times, Observer, and Huffington Post, as well as being featured on Good Morning America. Karen has received multiple awards, including Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, and the Taste Canada Food Writing award. She is proud to be a Jamie Oliver Food Foundation’s Real Food Advocate.