Category: Dining With Donna

In this inspiring episode of Dining With Donna, Donna J. Jodhan welcomes Debra Erickson, founder of The Blind Kitchen, for a candid conversation about vision loss, resilience, and reclaiming confidence in the kitchen. Debra shares her journey from a shocking diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa at age 28 to learning essential blindness skills and fully embracing her identity, while Donna connects through her own experience of having to re-learn cooking without relying on sight. Together, they explore Debra’s core message: vision loss does not have to end your love of cooking, and with the right support, techniques, and mindset, fear can be replaced with competence and joy.

On this Episode of Dining with Donna, Donna Jodhan sits down with Renée Rentmeester, the creator and executive producer of The Cooking Without Looking TV Show, for a lively conversation about food, accessibility, and changing how the world understands blindness. Renée shares her path from an early start in television to a long media career and entrepreneurial work, then explains what moved her to create a show that highlights blind and visually impaired cooks as capable, creative, and completely “everyday,” without pity or stereotypes. Together, Donna and Renée talk about building a welcoming space where guests can be honest about vision loss while keeping the tone upbeat, practical, and empowering.