I was born in southern California, but we moved a lot when I was young and we never really had food family traditions. When I was 12, my gramma gave me a cookbook, and like most 12 year old kids, I didn’t pay much attention to it. When I was 14, I had settled into a community near Seattle, Washington and suddenly had a large family to cook for. I broke out that cookbook and started learning. Cooking for kids and allergies was an interesting task, and it gave life to my creativity. It also gave me a passion to raise my own kids with food family traditions. After spending most of my adult life in public safety and law enforcement, I hung up my badge and focused on feeding people. I switched gears to working in the seasonal tourism industry in Southeast Alaska. I wanted to learn the industry from the ground up and learned every job and all the tasks and requirements necessary to run a successful business. I started as a bartender, then moved to the kitchen where I learned each position, developed recipes that could be scaled to feed thousands of guests a day. Eventually, I became the manager of the largest buffet restaurant in Alaska, and I now serve as the Director of Operations for all of our company’s food service and retail operations. In the off season, you will often find me grilling at our yacht club, delivering holiday meals to our local hospital staff or playing “chopped” style challenges with friends and family. I currently live in Juneau, Alaska and have spent time developing my own signature spice blends. I want to help you be comfortable and confident in your cooking, and maybe even find your creative side.