About me

I was born in Florida, lived in Germany, and raised in Alaska. I graduated high school in 2005. Moved to Arizona and graduated from Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 2007, when it was a Le Cordon Bleu school. In 2015 I enrolled in the Institute of Integrated Nutrition and received my Health Coach certification a year later.

I have been working in professional kitchens since 2005. I spent most of my culinary career in Tucson. It was there that I was made aware of the "Farm to Table" movement. I took pride in knowing that I was working with food that was harvested the same day and traveled less than a hundred miles. We brought in produce such as tomatoes, cucumbers, various squash, and leafy greens like kale and swiss chard. We worked with different farms, raising and processing our proteins. We purchased chicks, lambs, goats, and pigs that were raised and slaughtered on the farm, then brought to the kitchen for further cleaning, and portioning. 

I graduated from Scottsdale Culinary Institute with my associate's degree in 2007. For the next 11 years, I worked in various kitchens, picking up all sorts of cooking techniques. During those years cooking in the hot line of fire, I began cooking without recipes. I firmly believe that you do not need to rely on a recipe to put dinner on the table. I would like to pass this knowledge on to you, by showing you techniques, instead of focusing on a recipe.

I work with clients who get lost in following recipes. “I need this exact ingredient, or else the recipe won’t turn out.” This is not always true. It’s still going to be delicious. 
I want to help you get comfortable thinking outside of your cookbook or box of recipes. I want to help stop the accumulation of random spices and cans in your pantry. I want you to be able to look in your kitchen, find random ingredients, and be able to make a meal out of them.