Meet the Team…

Founder and co-author

Jared Koch graduated from the University of Michigan where he completed a pre-medical program while majoring in economics. With an entrepreneurial spirit, he delayed enrollment in Albert Einstein Medical School to launch an entertainment company with his brother. The company grossed $10 million in annual sales within ten years.

Despite corporate success, Jared still felt a strong need to attend to the wellness of others. Upon selling his stake in the entertainment business, he began seven years of wellness study with the likes of Dr. Andrew Weil, Deepak Chopra, raw food guru David Wolfe, and Walter Willett, Chair of Harvard's Department of Nutrition.

Jared graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition with certification by Columbia University, Teachers College in 2005 and graduated from the Global Institute for Alternative Medicine in 2004. He is a health coach, nutritional consultant, and certified yoga instructor with expertise in meditation.

Clean Plates brings Jared full circle to the junction of his entrepreneurial business experience and his pre-medical, wellness and nutrition background. Clean Plates caters to practical eating by offering nutritionist and food critic approved restaurant guides along with timely tips that guide an online community sharing a passion for tasty sustainable eating.

Reviews by co-author...

Alex Van Buren, a former staff writer and restaurant reviewer for Time Out New York, has also written about food for Martha Stewart Living, New York Magazine, In Style, Gourmet.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, Everyday Food, and Metromix.com. A graduate of Reed College and Harvard University's Radcliffe Publishing Course, she has lived and dined in New York City for nearly a decade.

Help editing and writing nutritional content courtesy of...

Angela Starks is a BBC-trained journalist, nutritional therapist and yoga teacher. A former assistant editor for Satya magazine and nutrition expert for Planet Organic, Britain's largest health food store, she now counsels individual clients and hosts workshops at yoga studios and at the Culinary Institute of America. Angela holds a diploma in Anatomy and Physiology from the London School of Massage.

and

Bunny Wong, a former editor at Martha Stewart Living, writes and edits for Budget Travel, Travel & Leisure, Self, InStyle Weddings, O, the Oprah magazine, and many other publications. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Chef Interviews by...

Pervaiz Shallwani is a classically-trained chef and food writer whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Time Out New York, The New York Sun, Philadelphia Magazine and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He lives in Brooklyn.