Jennifer Maune, a finalist on season 13 of Fox's "MasterChef" in 2023, is preparing to open Fleur, a farm-to-table restaurant and European-style pastry shop in Arkansas. The Arkansas native — who has previously worked as a nonprofit executive, food blogger and founder, and is a mother of six — is adding restaurateur to her list of roles, and argues that busy modern families are losing something valuable when they abandon the shared dinner table.

The article frames Maune's new venture around a wider concern that the ritual of gathering for a home-cooked meal is being eroded by hectic family life. Her restaurant emphasises locally grown, seasonal produce, and in an accompanying interview she highlights Arkansas-grown ingredients she relies on, including heirloom tomatoes, squash, zucchini, fresh herbs and versatile root vegetables for summer cooking.