Polenta Battered Fish

In a bowl, whisk together spelt flour, polenta, salt and pepper. In another small bowl, whisk egg. Add egg and sparkling water to flour mixture. Whisk in a bit of honey. Dip fish and fry in a skillet over medium high heat with a 1/4 inch of high heat sunflower oil. Serve with lemon and chips!

ALISON BAILEY VERCRUYSSE
Founder and CEO

From Dallas to Chicago to San Francisco, Alison, the Founder of 18 Rabbits, went from the world of banking to the world of baking. Alison worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, but found her heart was in creating baked goods. In San Francisco, she delved into the pastry kitchen at the acclaimed Citizen Cake as an apprentice, and then learned hands-on production in the pastry kitchen at Taste Catering.

Since Alison found her passion, she is always creating new recipes and rarely makes the same one twice. She also loves to experiment with unique ingredients that she has found on her travels, in written literature or while conversing with people from around the world.

A couple times a year Alison travels to the French countryside where part of her family lives in a 2000-year-old farmhouse among vines, olive trees, a fruit orchard and vegetable garden. She enjoys immersing herself in learning century-old cooking techniques; plucking the fruit off the vines and watching her nephew devour whatever she makes. Alison has hosted eight cooking segments on ABC's View from the Bay. She also is profiled in the book Growing Roots: The New Generation of Sustainable Farmers, Cooks and Food Activists by Katherine Leiner, 2010.

Alison holds an MBA from DePaul University and a BBA from Southern Methodist University.