BY SHERI TRUSTY
CATAWBA ISLAND – The Greater Port Clinton Area Arts Council (GPCAAC) concluded its 2026 Lecture Series on March 25 with a dinner at the Catawba Island Club featuring a talk by Terri Bergman, owner of The Kitchen’s Bounty in Huron. Bergman enthralled the audience with tales of growing up in a large French family, her journey through multiple careers, and her most recent venture with The Kitchen’s Bounty, where she hosts signature events, French cooking classes, and plein air fundraisers attended by many Port Clinton artists.
GPCAAC President Karen Evans introduced Bergman as “Northern Ohio’s Martha Stewart.”
“She has so many talents,” Evans said. “She’s such a positive force and light in the world.”
Bergman was raised in Boston by a Parisian mother and a French Canadian father who spoke French in their home and served French cuisine, which encouraged Bergman’s love of cooking. She was about ten years old when she was first drawn to art, but the pressures of opinions made her shrink away.
Terri Bergman created this mixed media composition she calls “Wings.” (Photo by Sheri Trusty)
“My parents bought me paints and an easel, but with art, you have to perform. I hated that,” she said. “That’s what haunts artists – other people’s opinions.”
Those early hesitancies passed, and today, she embraces art, eschews negativity, and finds a creative outlet in mixed media compositions. When she moved from easel to kitchen as a child and learned to cook, Bergman discovered that art is not limited to paint and canvas.
“You find art in the written, in the visual, in the plate of food you serve,” she said.
Bergman’s many careers included working in her family’s steel business, being a realtor, and directing a performing arts center, which opened her eyes to the importance of inclusivity in the art world, of finding ways to connect with people who have had little exposure to art.
“I would love to be a part of that in Port Clinton,” she said. “So many adults are intimidated by art and never got the chance to understand art.”
The Kitchen’s Bounty owner, Terri Bergman, and GPCAAC President Karen Evans at the art dinner at Catawba Island Club on March 25. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)
Bergman brings that philosophy to her cooking classes, where she welcomes students of all cooking experience. They can watch from their seats or immerse their hands in grilling cantaloupe or whipping Chantilly cream. When the classes are finished, Bergman serves plated art.
“We make a seven course, private chef-style meal,” she said. “My classes are for everyone.”
Whether she is leading a performing arts center or teaching a cooking class, Bergman wants to open doors of new experiences for the people in her life.
“I always encourage everyone in my life to fly,” she said. “What’s the worst that can happen? You get bumped, and you get bruised, and you heal.”
Bergman’s view of art is big and embracing and not limited to the tangible creations that come from her hands.
“My family was my greatest work of art and the people in my posse – the people I work with, the people I go to church with, my friends. It’s a big posse, and we ride together,” she said. “I’m willing to love a whole lot of people.”
Dining and Cooking