Bauman College Alumnus and Teaching Assistant Michele Tedrick Wins Best Written Recipe

Content Summary

• Expert Spotlight: Bauman College Alumnus and Teaching Assistant Michele Tedrick is featured as the winner of the “Best Written Recipe” in the 2026 Lentil Recipe Writing Contest.
• Culinary Inspiration: Michele shares how she transformed a nostalgic Midwestern “hamburger gravy” into a sophisticated, plant-based Lentil and Mushroom Gravy with whipped rutabaga and potatoes.
• Technical Excellence: The post emphasizes the importance of clear, professional recipe writing and the testing process required to create health-supportive comfort food.
• Community Leadership: Michele reflects on her professional growth within the Bauman College community, from being a student to her current roles as a Holistic Chef and Teaching Assistant.

At Bauman College, we love celebrating the many ways our community members bring heart, skill, and purpose to their work. We are thrilled to congratulate Michele Tedrick, a distinguished Alumnus and Holistic Chef Program Teaching Assistant, on winning the 2026 Bauman College Lentil Recipe Writing Contest.

Michele’s entry earned top honors for Best Written Recipe, standing out for its professional clarity and ease of replication. In the reflections below, Michele shares the story behind her winning recipe—Lentil and Mushroom Gravy over Whipped Rutabaga-Potatoes with Brown Butter and Crispy Sage—in her own words.

A Recipe Rooted in Memory

When I first started thinking about the lentil recipe contest, I had a lot of ideas. I made a long list of possibilities, and honestly, there are several I would still love to develop one day. But I kept coming back to this recipe because it felt the most personal.

What drew me in was the chance to create something that connected my past with everything I had learned at Bauman College. I wanted the recipe to feel comforting and familiar, but also thoughtful and elevated. That combination felt true to who I am as a chef and most aligned with how I cook now.

Reimagining Midwestern Comfort Food

I grew up in the Midwest, where comfort food often looked like some version of meat and potatoes. One dish I remember especially well was my mom’s “hamburger gravy” served over mashed potatoes, usually made with canned mushroom soup. It was simple, hearty, and part of the rhythm of home cooking where I grew up.

Even before I became a chef, I was interested in reworking recipes like that into something made with more intention and less reliance on ultra-processed ingredients. So, when this contest came along, it felt natural to revisit that memory and imagine a vegetarian version that still carried the same home-cooked feeling.

Bringing Technique Into Comfort Food

One of the things I wanted most was for the recipe to reflect the techniques I learned at Bauman College. I used methods like soaking legumes and creating rich, flavorful sauces by browning butter, crisping sage, and building a roux to make a dish that’s both approachable and satisfying. Lentils and mushrooms create a deeply savory, umami-rich flavor without the need for meat—something I learned in the plant-based cooking lessons.

Since the recipe was being judged in part on whether it was professionally written, clear, and easy to follow, I worked hard to make sure the instructions were precise. I wanted someone to be able to read it, trust it, and make it successfully in their own kitchen. That mattered just as much to me as the flavor.

Learning to Love Rutabaga

The rutabaga-potato mash has a story of its own. It is another nod to my mother, who loves rutabaga and to whom I credit for my love of cooking. For a long time, I really did not like rutabaga; I found it a bit too earthy. Because it’s a health-promoting cruciferous vegetable, I wanted to challenge myself to use it in a way that changed my perspective.

And it did. When paired with potatoes and whipped until smooth, rutabaga becomes creamy, comforting, and surprisingly elegant. Brown butter adds richness, and crispy sage brings a fragrant, slightly crunchy finish that ties the entire dish together.

The Care Behind a Well-Written Recipe

One of the most rewarding parts of this experience was also one of the most challenging: the writing itself. Recipe development is never just about having a good idea. It takes testing, measuring, adjusting, rewriting, and coming back with fresh eyes. I weighed ingredients carefully, checked yields, and revisited the instructions several times to make sure every step was clear. Winning in the Best Written Recipe category made that effort feel especially meaningful.

Life as a Bauman College Alumnus and Teaching Assistant

Becoming part of the Bauman College community has been such an important part of my journey. Before I found Bauman College, I knew I wanted to work with food, but I did not yet have a full picture of how many directions that path could take.

Bauman College opened that up for me. It showed me that being a chef can mean so much more than working in a restaurant. It can mean recipe development, personal chef work, teaching, wellness-focused cooking, and helping my clients connect food with healing. Today, I am proud to be an alumnus and to serve as a Teaching Assistant, supporting students as they build their own culinary confidence.

About Michele Tedrick

Michele is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), an ADAPT Certified Functional Health Coach (A-CFHC), and a certified Holistic Chef through Bauman College. As an alumnus and current Teaching Assistant at Bauman College, she supports students in mastering the intersection of nutrition and culinary skill.

Connect with Michele:

• Instagram | @nutrivorelife
• Facebook | Nutrivore Life
• Website | NutrivoreLife.com

Lentil and Mushroom Gravy over Whipped Rutabaga-Potatoes with Brown Butter and Crispy Sage

By Chef Michele Tedrick
Servings | 4 generous heaping one cup servings of each or 6 scant one cup servings
Prep Time | 20 minutes Cook Time | 50 minutes Total Time | 1 hour 10 minutes

This lentil and mushroom gravy is vegetarian comfort food in a bowl. The lentils provide plant-based protein and fiber, while the mushrooms offer a host of B vitamins—all enveloped in a savory sauce. This nutrient-dense gravy is served over an often-overlooked cruciferous vegetable, namely rutabaga. To make it more approachable, the rutabaga is whipped with potatoes, browned butter, earthy sage, and oat milk. Serve with a green salad dressed in a light vinaigrette to compliment the richness and round out the meal.

INGREDIENTS

Whipped Rutabaga-Potatoes with Brown Butter and Crispy Sage

• 1 pound rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons butter (½ stick)
• 12 to 16 sage leaves, divided (4 – 6 large leaves left whole for garnish; remaining leaves thinly sliced/chiffonade, about 1 tablespoon)
• 2 cups oat milk, or milk of choice
• salt and pepper to taste

Lentil and Mushroom Gravy

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup onion, small diced (about 1 small onion or ½ medium onion)
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, ends trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• salt and ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon thyme, dried
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons spelt flour, or thickening flour of choice
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/3 cup green lentils, (preferably soaked overnight—see recipe note)

INSTRUCTIONS

Whipped Rutabaga-Potatoes with Brown Butter and Crispy Sage

1. Place rutabaga in a pot and cover with salted water by 3 inches. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes to give the rutabaga a head start. Add potatoes and continue to simmer until both vegetables are fork-tender, about 10 minutes more. When rutabaga and potatoes are tender, drain, set aside, and keep warm.
2. While rutabaga and potatoes are cooking, heat butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Once butter is melted and gently bubbling, add 4 to 6 whole sage leaves and toss to coat in hot butter. Monitor the heat to prevent sage leaves from burning. Let sage get crispy, but not brown. Transfer sage leaves to a plate with a paper towel, sprinkle with salt, and set aside. Next, add the chiffonade sage to the butter and let crisp as the butter continues to brown. (Optional: after butter and sage are toasted reserve 1 tablespoon of brown butter and sage for plating). Add 2 cups of oat milk to the toasted butter mixture and gently heat as the rutabaga-potato finishes cooking.
3. To finish the rutabaga-potatoes, use masher to break down drained vegetables. Add warm milk and reserved brown butter-milk mixture and continue to mash. Leave chunky for a rustic look or use hand mixer or stick blender to whip mixture into a smoother puree. Season to taste. Keep covered and warm on low burner or warm oven while making lentil gravy.

Lentil and Mushroom Gravy

1. Heat a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Sauté onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to cook down until glistening (about 12 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add thyme and garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes.
2. Add 2 tablespoons butter to mushroom and onion mixture and mix well. Add 4 tablespoons of flour and mix into a roux with the mushrooms and onions. Continue to stir and toast the flour for a few minutes.
3. Slowly add the vegetable broth while scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate the flour into the broth.
4. Add cooked lentils to the broth and continue to stir until gravy is thickened. Season to taste.
5. To serve add a scoop of the mushroom-lentil gravy to a bed of rutabaga-potato puree. Garnish with crispy sage leaf and the optional brown butter drizzle.

Recipe Note

Green lentils (not French Puy) are used here, though brown lentils would also work well in this recipe. Sprouted lentils are becoming more readily available at stores, which means they have already gone through the soaking process. Simply cook those according to package instructions.

Soaking lentils in advance may improve digestibility and nutrient absorption, while also reducing cooking time and making the final dish quicker to prepare.

To prepare the lentils for this recipe, bring 3 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the pre-soaked lentils and maintain a gentle simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain any excess water as needed.

Allergen Information

 Wheat, Gluten, Dairy, Nightshades

Explore the 2026 Lentil Recipe Writing Contest

Michele’s award-winning gravy is just one of the incredible highlights from our inaugural recipe contest. To see the full list of winners, watch the 2026 Awards Ceremony video, and access the upcoming spotlights for our Most Creative Recipe and Best Presentation categories, check out our main announcement post: Winners of Bauman College’s 2026 Lentil Recipe Writing Contest