I love to eat it. I love to cook it. And I want others to enjoy what I cook as much as I enjoy preparing it.
I’m a home chef who started in the kitchen at 10 years old, learning from my mom. She was always baking and cooking something amazing in our family kitchen, and I benefited from her background as a 4-H Foods group leader and training in commercial food preparation.
I’ve had many kitchen successes and “learning experiences” over the last 35 years (ask my mom about the time I used peppermint OIL instead of flavoring in a batch of cookies … let’s just say they were reminiscent of cough medicine.) My experiences have helped inspire both what I cook and how I cook.
My cuisine includes treasured American, Tex-Mex, Asian and Italian dishes handed down by family and from the dog-eared pages of beloved cookbooks, as well as new ideas picked up online. I like to try a recipe several ways before it becomes part of my collection of “keepers.” But I’m happy to work with your personal favorite recipes as well!
I’ve completed the Learn2Serve Food Safety Management Principles course at 360 Training. I’m also a mother who has cooked both for picky eaters and for a child with allergies – so I know how to avoid cross-contamination and substitute ingredients. I’ve often made up a meal with whatever I had available to avoid a last-minute grocery run – and sometimes those end up being our family’s favorites.