We are Beth and Ben Estes, aka Zestes. We do a lot of cooking, entertaining and traveling. We want to share our most loved recipes and adventures with you!
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases from our website links. This is at no additional cost to you. We only provide links to products we use and recommend.
Beth & Ben Estes
The Zestes are home cooks with a shared love of food but very different styles of cooking. Ben is always looking for a challenge in the kitchen while Beth is researching ways to make a quick and easy meal. Although our paths to the finish line may differ, our goal is the same – it must be delicious!
One of our favorite things in life is to entertain and cook for friends and family. Our casual style of hosting encompasses three main ingredients, quality food, good drinks and great company. We travel as much as we can and one of the highlights of our trips is experiencing the local food. Ben likes to work on recreating our favorite meals at home. Beth enjoys doing the photography and web designing. We also do a little bit of urban gardening and enjoy having some of our favorite herbs and vegetables on hand to use in our recipes.
We started this website to keep our favorite recipes organized in one place. Since we do so much experimenting in the kitchen, we decided to share what we have found to be the very best recipes. Our commitment is to only share our tried-and-true favorites and our hope is that you will enjoy them as much as we do.
...Oh, and where did the name “Zestes” come from you ask? Years ago, we were actually single, leading separate lives under different surnames “Zeigler and Estes”. After falling in love, we decided to get married and through that joyous occasion our friends started referring to us as “The Zestes”.
“My favorite meals to cook are quick, easy, made in one pot and make good leftovers. I’m always trying to create short-cut versions of my favorite meals. I’d like to help people who are intimidated by cooking, learn some basics and feel more confident in the kitchen. I want to give people like me, who don’t have much time and energy left at the end of the day, some ideas to help put together a simple and delicious meal.
I’m a psychotherapist, specializing in treating anxiety and intuitive eating counseling. I often hear from clients how stressful meal planning and home cooking can be. I help my clients practice intuitive eating and I believe food is meant to be enjoyed, stress free. In my recipes you will get easy, low stress ways to make great tasting food. I do consider health and basic nutrition when cooking but you will never get the latest diet trend or hear me applying moral value to food with guilt ridden messages.”
~Beth
“I love good restaurants and the delight that comes from the first bite of a really great dish. I challenge myself (and you) to create these same exceptional flavors and textures at home by bringing together the right ingredients, tools, temperatures and timing. There are no shortcuts or time constraints in my kitchen, only outcomes that have our guests asking, "when is the next dinner party?"
I grew up helping my parents and grandparents in the garden and kitchen, learning a lot of techniques passed down through generations. I also grew up entertaining as the class clown and enjoying a good party. This foundation (along with some education) put me on a clear path to sales. A career that gives you the opportunity to work hard for your clients and then take them out for a Tomahawk Ribeye paired with a lobster that’s been stuffed by a crab that’s been stuffed by a...well, you get the gist. Through my international travels I’ve had the opportunity to share in some incredible and unique cultural dining experiences. I try to bring all of these experiences back home and create them in our kitchen.
~Ben
