Hi! I'm a classically-trained cook who went to culinary school after college (BA in History) and worked in restaurant and bakery kitchens for a few years before shifting gears to a career in marketing communications.
I was born and raised in the city of Chicago, but spent considerable time in Crete as a child (my mother's homeland). As an adult, I've lived in Chania (Greece), Paris (France) and now San Francisco, where I live with my husband Scott. We are lucky enough to split our time between the city and wine country. (If you want to watch an episode of about our rebuilding efforts after the Nuns Fire of 2017, find Tiny House Nation, episode "A Firefighter Rebuilds" on Netflix.)
I love to travel and, when I have a kitchen at my disposal, my favorite thing to do is shop in local markets and cook with local products. To me this is one of the best ways to understand a place. I'm a big advocate of supporting local farmers and producers. I served on the board of Slow Food San Francisco for nine years and had the privilege of representing the Bay Area as a US delegate to Terra Madre & Salone del Gusto, in Turin, Italy in 2014.
Keeping with my roots, my cooking style tends towards the Mediterranean. I mix in French technique I picked up in culinary school, and from living in Paris for three years. I'm very inspired by travel and restaurants, a whiff of anachronism in today's world. Cooking seasonally is important to me and I love taking advantage of the bounty of fresh ingredients we have here in the Bay Area.
What makes my cooking sessions different:
I love entertaining, and my dinner parties are legendary. Food is a gift and best shared. When the covid-19 shelter-in-place orders were announced, getting together and cooking remotely has been the highlight of my days. I hope one day we can all meet over one luxuriously long dinner, clink glasses and toast to these moments, I promise to never take for granted again.
Cheers! 🥂