My name is Glimmer Mayfield, and at 42, founder of Glimmerrecipes .I find myself more in love with food than ever—not just the taste of it, but the stories it tells, the hands that shape it, and the hearts it nourishes. I live in a rambling old farmhouse just outside Asheville, North Carolina, where the garden is always a bit wild and my kitchen never stays clean for long. But that’s exactly how I like it: life, like cooking, should never be too tidy.
I wasn’t born with a whisk in my hand. In fact, I spent my twenties climbing the corporate ladder in Chicago, pencil skirts and quarterly reports my daily bread. But something shifted when my grandmother, Lorraine, passed away. She left me her recipe box—a tattered, stained, utterly magical collection of handwritten notes that smelled faintly of cinnamon and time. I began cooking her dishes, one by one, crying and laughing in equal measure as memories poured in with every simmering pot.
That was the beginning. I left my job a year later and moved south, chasing a quieter life that let me knead dough instead of deadlines. I studied with local chefs, cooked in tiny farm-to-table kitchens, and even ran a food truck for a summer called “Grit & Grace.” Every burnt roux and over-salted stew taught me something essential: good food isn’t always perfect, but it is always honest.
These days, I teach small cooking classes in my kitchen and write a monthly newsletter called “Soul on a Plate.” My style leans gluten free vegan with a twist of whatever I’m curious about that week—maybe Thai basil or Moroccan preserved lemons. I believe food should feel like a hug, and if it makes you cry (the good kind), all the better. My favorite compliment is when someone says a dish reminds them of their childhood. That’s when I know I’ve done my job.
So here I am, flour on my shirt, a little older, a lot bolder, and still falling head over heels for the alchemy of salt, fat, acid, and time. If you’re here, you probably know that cooking is more than a skill—it’s a love language, a therapy, a legacy. I’m honored to share mine with you. If you’re searching for gluten free vegan recipes that feed the soul and tell a story, you’re in the right place.