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hello, i’m cass

I’m the face behind First Year of Food, and this is my son Finn. Thanks for being here. I fell in love with cooking at a very early age and it’s a passion that hasn’t faded. In my early twenties I found myself questioning where and how the food I was eating was grown and processed, the impacts conventional agriculture was having on the environment and ultimately the cost to human health.

This is when I was introduced to whole foods and traditional methods of cooking and decided to pursue a career dedicated to farming, food and nutrition. I went on to spend the next decade educating myself through various courses and gaining skills through hands-on work experience.

I everything from natural beekeeping and fermentation; permaculture design and market gardening; volunteering on organic farms around Europe (wwoofing); and finally I completed a livestock apprenticeship at Stonebarns Centre for Food and Agriculture in New York State. I eventually moved to Byron Bay in 2014 and began working on various farms in the Northern Rivers, growing seasonal produce to sell to restaurants and at local farmers markets.

I’m currently in my final year of studying a Bachelor of Food and Nutrition and during this time I have become a mother. When it came time for my son to start solids I felt relaxed and well prepared, however the women in my mothers group didn’t have the same confidence. What started out as a WhatsApp group for sharing recipes and 'how to' videos is how the idea for First Year of Food was born.

 
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I spend most of my days being a full-time mum, studying, gardening, developing recipes, cooking and planning our farm in Ireland. We live in the Northern Rivers on a small 3 acre homestead not far from the beach, where I am still able to grow some of our own food. We have a large vegetable garden, fruit trees and a flock of very mischievous hens who provide us with fresh eggs every day. My son Finn is 20 months old now and enjoys getting dirty in the garden, chasing chickens and being the official FYOF taste tester. I hope you enjoy our recipes and find the information on this website helpful x

“Cooking from scratch is the single most important thing we could do as a family to improve our health and general well-being.”

~ Michael Pollan

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Strawberry season has begun in my part of the world! I bought these beauties from the markets on Tuesday and now we’ve got 18 weeks to stuff ourselves silly and preserve a heap before the season ends. I’ll freeze some each week to build u
Me & Finn in the garden 🍃 This photo was taken around the time I decided to focus my studies on infant and childhood nutrition. It’s when I decided to start documenting our kitchen and garden adventures, and to a create a place to safely
Finn’s lunchbox for today 🍽 Fava bean tempeh Steamed broccoli + green beans Spelt spirals with olive oil Avocado + toasted nori Kimchi Orange Wholemeal banana cinnamon muffin
Breakfast for the whole family 💛 These are some of the foods that Finn has eaten with us since he first started solids. It looks fancy, but it’s not. It’s just real food. Good quality, minimally processed, everyday ingredients. Of cours
Rainy day baking and testing recipes. These happen to be nut, dairy and egg free. I think the batter is too thick, but I’ll see how my taste tester likes them when he wakes from his nap. At the very least the house is beginning to smell delicio
Adding an extra boost of calcium, protein and omega-3s to our lunch today 🐟 These wild caught sprats are much milder in flavour than sardines, so I like adding them to dishes that they would otherwise overpower. We had these with cannellini beans br
Recipe | Quinoa porridge Ingredients: 1/2 cup cooked quinoa 1/4 - 1/2 cup milk of choice 1 Tbsp probiotic yoghurt or kefir Pinch cinnamon Fruit e.g. mashed banana, stewed apple or 1 dried fruit finely sliced Hemp seeds Method: 1. Place the cook