ʻUlu Ambassador: Sarah Burchard - Freelance Food Writer

Sarah embodies her mission of #alwayssupportinglocal As a former San Francisco chef and artisan she combines decades of cooking, business, and storytelling experience with a deep reverence for local ingredients, restaurants and farms. After graduating from The California Culinary Academy in San Francisco Sarah dedicated over 12 years working her way up in the restaurant business.

In 2010 Sarah cofounded a small artisan company that produced and sold BBQ Sauces and Spice Rubs nationwide. During that time she became a private chef hosting pop-up dinners, catering events and cooking home meals for some of the bay areaʻs most influential people in business and venture capital.

In 2017 she closed all business operations in San Francisco and moved to Honolulu where she worked as a virtual assistant and helped develop the brand Yoga Unplugged - an event platform that provided a space for yoga teachers and healers from all over to collaborate on events, trainings and retreats. During this time she also began freelancing as a food writer advocating for small, local businesses and a more sustainable food system that honors the culture, land, and people of Hawaiʻi.

Sarah is best known on Oʻahu for her farm-to-table events, Kakaʻako Farmers Market Tour, contributions to publications such as Forbes.com, HONOLULU magazine and edible Hawaiian Islands magazine, her food and wellness blog The Healthy Locavore and her project A Year of Ingredients –– a collection of 365 local Hawaiʻi ingredients she chronicled daily in 2018.

As programs and communications manager for Under My Umbrella and Chef Hui during the pandemic, Sarah continued to deepen connections and foster collaborations between farmers, ranchers, fishers, chefs and their communities and tell their stories. Now, she continues her work as a writer while moonlighting as a restaurant server at natuRe Waikiki. When Sarah’s not behind her laptop in a local coffee shop, or working at the restaurant, you can find her on a yoga mat, restaurant hopping, or at the farmers market.