BYU-Idaho Radio · The Story Behind Kelsi's Kitchen
Kelsi’s Kitchen is a local chocolate company that now sells products in 40 stores in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. The founder of Kelsi’s Kitchen is Kelsi Petersen, of Idaho Falls. She is also a BYU-Idaho alumna.
Petersen has an interesting background in cooking with only raw foods. When Petersen was 10, her mother was diagnosed with flipped intestines.
“My inspiration… all started with my mom. Her intestines flipped over, and it led her to figure out what food she had to eat since her food wasn’t digesting very well, [and] it led her to a raw food diet,”?Petersen said.
Once Petersen saw the interesting and unique food her mother was creating, she also made the jump to eat only raw foods.
“I decided that I wanted to eat that way too, so I switched my diet over when I was 12. So, no more candy, no more processed foods at all. I just ate what we made at the house. When I would go out, I would pack my own food,”?Petersen said.
Petersen and her mother travelled to California and Puerto Rico to learn the art of cooking with whole, raw foods. She said a lot of what they taught them was recipe development. Their raw diet consists of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. They learned how to take regular recipes and make them with only those four ingredients. When they came back from their trips, many of their friends in Idaho Falls wanted to learn about recipe development and cooking with raw foods. Petersen and her mother began teaching these classes in Idaho Falls.
The recipe that quickly became one of the most popular to teach was Petersen’s chocolate recipe, which Petersen’s friends often requested her to make. After Petersen was married and had two sons, she decided to branch out and start her own chocolate business selling these raw chocolates.
Petersen’s mother passed away just a few months after being diagnosed with ALS. Now, Petersen donates 10% of her profits to ALS research.
Her chocolates are found in Broulim’s grocery stores and other health food stores in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. For a list of stores that sell Kelsi’s Kitchen chocolates, click here.
For more information, or to order Kelsi’s Kitchen chocolate online, visit kelsiskitchen.com.