Claudia Krevat

Hi, I am Claudia. I was born and raised on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast. When I graduated from high school in Barranquilla, I moved to Miami, Florida, to pursue a college degree in International Relations and Sociology. I met my gringo Steve and remained in Florida for twenty-five years before moving to Bozeman in 1998. We have one daughter, Gaby, whom you may recognize from the news on KBZK. She is our pride and joy and makes us very proud. Steve and I are celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary in February of 2021.

For 20 years, I worked in interior finishes design, a career that came to me by chance, and because I have a knack for putting things together and helping people, I got very good at it. But food has been my passion since a child. When I reached my mid-fifties, I decided it was time to take that passion and do something with it, so I slowly began to transition into my food world.

My culinary point-of-view is global, identifying with the cultures that shaped my life, like the Caribbean and Latin American, Spanish, Italian, Mediterranean, and Palestinian, whether from family roots or the diversity I grew up within Barranquilla. I embrace all opportunities that come to me where I can share a cross-cultural experience through food.

In 2014 I became the Renegade Chef to the LENTIL UNDERGROUND. I traveled with Montana author Liz Carlisle and the Timeless Food lentil growers to San Francisco. I was part of a book reading sponsored by Michael Pollan in UC Berkeley School of Journalism and taught a couple of cooking classes at Stanford University’s School of Sustainability. Currently, I am working with Montana’s Department of Agriculture, Pulses Division, introducing our lentils and chickpeas to South America and the Caribbean.

I believe that food is a universal language, - We are one at the Table, Somos Uno en la Mesa, is Claudia’s Mesa tagline. We’ve hosted free communal dinners at parks, homes, and businesses for the last three years. Our purpose and mission are to create community and personal growth opportunities, identify and introduce local talent, non-profits, and provide a diverse buffet featuring our Montana pulse crops.

Unfortunately, COVID has stopped us from gathering at the Lentil Table. 2020 forced me to close my studio in the back of Red Tractor Pizza, canceled or postponed all the events I had on the books, but it allowed me to evaluate the scope of Claudia’s Mesa. I intend to serve my community through food, to bring beautiful and nurturing meals made with as many local ingredients as possible to the family’s table through home-delivered meals. To voice to the community and beyond the bounty of pulse crops we have in the Golden Triangle, and to be hopeful and patient, we will soon be breaking bread together.

I invite you to join me. Connect with me. Send me an email. Call me. Be curious about food and global recipes. My current website is up for re-design, but you can still visit at www.claudiasmesa.com. I am on Facebook as Claudia Galofre-Krevat and Instagram’s @thelentilqueen. My email is claudiasmesa@gmail.com, and a phone call is always welcomed at 406-539-8648.