Co-Founder & Culinary Director

In 2014, Emma and her husband, Bobby, co-founded Firelight Camps in Ithaca, NY, the premier glamping destination on the east coast. As co-owner and culinary director, Emma oversees food programming, food product development, merchandise and marketing, while developing new plans for expansion to other properties. In 2009, Emma and Robert opened La Buena Onda in Nicaragua, their first boutique hotel and café, which they sold in 2014. Emma was a top finalist on Food Network Star Season 10 and is the author of emmafrisch.com, with over 500 original recipes and cooking videos. Over the past decade, Emma has worked with nonprofits to help build healthier regional food systems in the northeast U.S., Kenya and as a Fulbright Scholar in Ecuador. She was the co-founder and executive director of the crowdfunding platform PEAKS, and is a founding member of Groundswell International. She holds a B.A. in Food Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently writing her first cookbook, Feast by Firelight, to be published in Spring 2018 by Ten Speed Press. She lives in Ithaca, NY with her husband, Bobby, and daughter Ayla. Read a short interview with Emma.