Jennifer returned to the US from two years in rural Ghana with the Peace Corps and unpacked a well-worn, traditional African stew pot that she had used daily for cooking over an open flame. It was a balancing act getting the rounded bottom of the pot stabilized on the flat electric coil of the stove, especially with the force of exploding kernels tossing the kettle in every direction, yet that very same rounded bottom was ideal for making popcorn.
Peace Corps, Community Tree Harvest, 2003
Fast forward several years.
Married and expecting her first child, Jen was making popcorn when she realized there was no way of knowing about the purity of the metal used to cast the pot. Concerned about toxins, she went to the drawing board and started designing the now patented Signature Kettle.
Honoring the Peace Corps mission, Cook’s Kettle pledges to donate a percent of profits to Cook x Cook 501(c)(3) toward raising awareness of environmental and human health in the most vulnerable communities. Led by our founder, Cook × Cook is rooted in shared humanity — known in South Africa as ubuntu, translated “I am as we are.” Cook x Cook supports the global nonprofit Pure Earth in its mission to purify cookware; thereby, advancing the developmental health and well being of children and their families in Ghana and across the African continent.
Jen is an architect, leading historical restoration projects for the city of Philadelphia with a private architecture firm, is a member of her local Historical Commission, and participates in the annual Strasburg Half-marathon in support of the Lancaster Farmland Trust. These efforts are synergistic with her service in the Peace Corps, which involved facilitating organic farm and reforestation activities to protect biodiversity, soil fertility, and the health of free range livestock.