Makenna Held
Author, Culinary Educator, Entrepreneur, Host
Makenna Held is an author, culinary educator, and creative force behind La Pitchoune: Cooking in France on Magnolia Network and Max. In 2015, she made a radical move—buying Julia Child’s former summer home in the South of France sight unseen—and transformed it into the Courageous Cooking School, where she developed the first proven method for seasonal, recipe-optional cooking.
Her mission? To liberate home cooks from the tyranny of perfection and teach them how to think, taste, and create like intuitive chefs. It’s not about memorizing steps, it’s about building real (kitchen) confidence. Her latest venture, RecipeKick, continues that mission by helping people cook smarter with what they have on hand, making meals more sustainable, affordable, and joyful.
Makenna’s cookbook, Mostly French (2025), is a love letter to the style of cooking she’s become known for: unfussy, deeply flavorful, and rooted in both tradition and improvisation. It’s part story, part method, and all heart.
She is also the founder of Okay, Perfect, a majority queer‑owned, women/non-binary-led hospitality group operating in both Colorado and France. Through food, design, and culture, the collective builds brands that challenge conventional hospitality by prioritizing consciousness, equity, and intention, from how spaces are designed to how people are paid and supported.
A graduate of Smith College, NYU, and Le Cordon Bleu, Makenna lives in Grasse, France, with her husband, Chris, and their daughter, Magnolia. Her first restaurant, Detour, opens August 1, 2025.