Michelle Gagnon

Michelle was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada but was raised in beautiful Portland, Maine. She moved to The Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia to obtain her B.S. in Social Work at Eastern Mennonite University. Post graduation, she spent several years in England working in a community center focused on removing barriers to employment for young adults. She then journeyed to Austria where she spent the next 14 years traveling the world and teaching Business English. In 2014, she returned to Shenandoah Valley, Virginia where she founded a farm-to-table restaurant focused on supporting and highlighting local sustainable food systems. Michelle explores the outdoors through running, hiking, and biking, and through these activities finds connection with nature. The Shenandoah Valley houses all of Michelle’s passions—beautiful landscapes explored by foot or bike, rich local food histories, and ingredients and a community of people sharing these traditions.