Connie Fairbanks is the author of Scratch That™ Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings featuring recipes made from scratch with fresh produce- no cans, bottles, tubs, and tubes. A Chicago actress and home chef, she began cooking in rural Kansas as soon as she could read. She won her first 4-H County Fair blue ribbon at age 8. Connie wrote her cookbook to give fellow home chefs access to fresh, homemade menus that inspire them to learn on the job.

Connie has had several careers in her lifetime. In 1998, she left the medical field that spanned over 20 years in international marketing and sales for large and start-up medical companies to pursue her dream as an actor. Since then she has used her talents to be featured in commercials and collaborate on-stage in the thriving theatre scene in Chicago. And now, as cookbook author and home chef, she's in another role that she loves. She’s a frequent guest in the Midwest hosting cooking segments on TV, interviewed for radio shows, and contributes to food and travel magazines.

When not traveling the byways of the US and Europe, she and her husband, Kirk, live in downtown Chicago, where they spend a lot of time on their award-winning rooftop deck. In her spare time, Connie loves exercise, plays classical piano, and enjoys cooking dinner with new veggies most nights for her husband and friends. She has committed to being a volunteer tutor for kids for more than 18 years. For her music fix, she accompanies on the piano for her local elementary school.

Connie has drawn on her life long experiences to create the perfect companion for the home chef, Scratch That^TM: Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings. Have fun and keep learning. Enjoy.