Rodrigue Kurkjian
CEO/Owner
My name is Rodrigue Kurkjian and I am originally from Paris, France.
My grandfather, Andreas, was a very famous chef in the restaurant of a renowned hotel. As a young boy, my grandfather’s kitchen was my playground; a safe environment that piqued my natural curiosity for experimenting with recipes.
I recall anxiously awaiting him to pick me up and take me to his restaurant. It was so much fun with him. We spent hours together, cooking and preparing dishes from authentic recipes. With his permission, I gathered fresh produce, tasted spices, and mixed ingredients, and soon became familiar with recipes from various regions.
He was a health-conscious individual at a time when few people paid attention to nutrition. He used only organic, non-GMO, low sodium, minimally processed foods with low or no sugar.
He gave me his precious recipe book a few days before he passed away and by doing so, I received a mission; to create food that not only tastes good, but also meets high nutritional standards.
As I grew, my interests expanded and I created a successful business publishing of specialized technological and industrial magazines. I learned the importance of customer satisfaction and its power to propel a business forward.
While I enjoyed my work, I was still very attracted to cooking and creating healthy, innovative recipes. This passion inspired me to open a gourmet restaurant in the south of France and was rewarded by prestigious food guides.
When, a few years ago, I moved to the United States, I was presented with the opportunity to pursue the art of designing food, which has allowed me to integrate heart, art, and soul into the process of recreating the delicious, authentic, and healthy recipes that my grandfather passed on to me.
Today, I live in Pasadena, California and create my food lines in my own kitchen and then have them produced outside in state of art manufacturing facilities. This is where my grandfather’s special recipes serve as the inspiration for foods like several varieties of delicious hummos, the smoked eggplant babaghanouj, garlic spreads, various raw-vegan salads, and the different healthy breads we distribute. For desserts, I have designed and provide sugar-free, vegan friendly baklava and some healthy cookies.
When I’m not inside in my kitchen or traveling for work, my sense of discovery has me trying catch the sunset sailing over the ocean as often as possible and keeps me committed to bringing more of the fresh, natural, unprocessed foods to the Fresh ‘n Nova table, while keeping my grandfather’s food ethics and the essence of his cooking alive.