I didn't take the traditional path. I started cooking in restaurant kitchens in Ohio while volunteering at places like the Culinary Vegetable Institute to learn more about ingredients and farming. I studied Culinary Nutrition at Johnson & Wales, where I co-founded the Modernist Cuisine Club and helped launch OURgrain — a sustainable food startup that turned spent brewing grains into flour. We won a MassChallenge Silver award and I learned that I loved building things from scratch.

After culinary school, I joined RATIONAL USA as a Corporate Chef, eventually becoming the youngest and first female chef on their national training team. I spent years traveling the country teaching over 130 professional chefs how to get the most out of their kitchens. I loved the work — but I missed cooking.

So I went back to school. I was accepted into the inaugural class of The Culinary Institute of America's Master of Professional Studies in Culinary Arts and was awarded a full scholarship from Dom Pérignon. The program took me to Champagne, France for a residency at the Abbey of Hautvillers, and gave me the opportunity to stage at some of the country's best restaurants: Per Se in New York, Californios in San Francisco, The Harbor House Inn in Elk, and Bell's in Los Alamos.

For the past two years, I've worked at The French Laundry in Yountville — one of only a handful of restaurants in the U.S. to hold three Michelin stars for nearly two decades. I've cooked on the line, worked in the culinary garden, served as cellar sommelier, and supported operations across the front and back of house. It's been the education of a lifetime.

Now I'm channeling all of that experience into my own practice — bringing Michelin-level care to private clients and helping food businesses sharpen their operations.