Abra Berens is the executive chef at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan, and the author of three cookbooks: Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Seeds, and Legumes, was named a Best Cookbook for Winter 2021 by Eater. Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables, was named a Best Cookbook for Spring 2019 by The New York Times and Bon Appetit, was a 2019 Michigan Notable Book winner, and was nominated for a James Beard Award. Her latest cookbook is Pulp: A Practical Guide To Cooking With Fruit.
Abra started her chef career at the storied Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, MI before going on to train in the garden-focused kitchen at Ballymaloe Cookery School in Cork, Ireland. In 2009, she founded Bare Knuckle Farm in Northport, MI, where she farmed and cooked for eight years, and then returned to the kitchen full time to open Local Foods Chicago, IL. As the current executive chef at Michigan’s Granor Farm, Abra creates all of her dishes using ingredients from the restaurant’s organic farm and hosts popular one-of-kind dinner events with the goal of connecting people with the best of South West Michigan’s diverse agriculture.
