About me

Cooking and entertaining have been my passions for as long as I can remember, and hardly a day goes by that does not find me in my kitchen, cooking or developing a new recipe! In addition to my "day job", I have a personal chef business, do some catering, am developing my own line of sauces and seasonings, and write food columns for two newspapers, as well as websites such as BigOven.com, Examiner.com (I am the Durham Food Examiner), and Half Hour Meals.com.

Cooking Influences

My mother and grandmother who were both fantastic cooks. My mother had me in the kitchen learning to follow recipes before I was in kindergarten, and I prepared my first full meal (with no help from mom) when I was eight years old (oven-fried chicken mashed potatoes and green beans).

In additon to my mom and grandmother, I would have to say that Julia Child has been an influence as well. I am a child of the 60's, and vividly remember watching Julia with my mom, and then going into the kitchen to try out a recipe. I thought Julia was awesome! She taught me to be fearless and to never, ever apologize.