Born: Buffalo, New York
Culinary Education: Years of watching both of my grandmother’s cook, 1 of them professionally, followed by California Culinary Academy in San Francisco
Your Style: I just like to cook the things I want to eat. My style is very much influenced by who and what is around me.
Favorite Dish: One of my favorite things to cook is Thai curry, because even though it’s pretty simple to prepare, it can have so much complexity. My favorite thing to eat is a good simple burger (Jeff Jackson’s Drugstore Hamburger at the Lodge at Torrey Pines).
Accolades/Experience: My cooking career began in San Francisco at Bambuddha Lounge, where we did everything to host parties for Armani exchange and Playboy, to Vogue Magazine fashion shows and a 50th birthday bash for renowned chef Hubert Keller. After moving to San Diego I worked with Chef Michael Zonfrilli to reinvent the Market St Cafe, then spent some time working in a old world style butcher shop doing everything from processing whole animals to all sorts of charcuterie, with sausage meister Jacob Kappler. While working as the chef de cuisine for Chileco catering, we were awarded “best caterer in San Diego” by San Diego Magazine for two years running. I spent several years at Stone Brewing Company in Escondido CA, working in the Bistro and then helping to launch their catering division and get their organic farm up and running. After Stone, I worked as a sous chef at A.R. Valentien before landing at Blue Ocean.
