“Cooking is not about convenience and it’s not about shortcuts. Our hunger for the twenty-minute gourmet meal, for one-pot ease and prewashed, precut ingredients has severed our lifeline to the satisfactions of cooking. Take your time. Take a long time. Move slowly and deliberately and with great attention.”
Thomas Keller
Some of my fondest memories are of sitting at the kitchen counter as a child, watching my family cook and begging them to teach me what they were doing. I didn’t care if it was picking basil for pesto or deveining shrimp—I just wanted to help. From a young age, I was inspired by how simple ingredients could come together to create incredible dishes. My family quickly noticed my enthusiasm and started gifting me plastic knives and beginner cookbooks for Christmas instead of dolls.
This encouragement fueled my passion even more. By middle school, I was experimenting in the kitchen with real knives and cooking meals without my parents’ help. I loved preparing dinner for my family and spent hours poring over my mom’s cookbooks for inspiration. In high school, I challenged myself to go beyond what I had learned from my parents. I dove into advanced techniques and bought books by Thomas Keller, including The French Laundry, whose work continues to inspire me to this day.
Keller’s recipes were far from simple and often tested the limits of a home kitchen, but I embraced the challenge. I began hosting dinner parties for my family, serving multi-course meals of fine French cuisine inspired by his books. Through these experiences, I’ve come to appreciate not just the flavors of the meals I create but the time, science, artistry, and balance that go into every plate.
My goal is to share my art, tell a story through my food, and create unforgettable dining experiences!
Sweet and Savory 