The Full Story

it all started...well, rather gradually actually, but right from the beginning. i was born into a long line of foodies. my fondest childhood memories are all tangled with, and inseparable from, the wafting kitchen smells and the cacophony of clattering pans.

every meal of my childhood was cooked from scratch at home, and with health in mind. we shopped around the periphery of the grocery store, and grew a great deal in our garden. for a brief phase, i spent the better part of each shopping trip inching our cart towards the shimmering plastic packaging of lunchables or stouffer’s frozen mac, while my mother gracefully redirected us towards the produce aisle. i once famously cried: “not another home-cooked meal!” to the horror of the suburban supermarket patrons. (i now know better.)  

while we ate healthily at home, my neighbor, who lived to 103, spent every saturday of my adolescence teaching me the basics (and indulgences) of french cooking: cream sauces, puff pastry, and velvety ganaches, along with the pies, tarts, and cookies she remembered from her childhood. she was well into her nineties and losing her sight, so i would read every recipe aloud from her stained, yellowing, and generally well-loved 5x7 index cards. at the end of each lesson, i dutifully copied each recipe down on a crisp, white new one to take home with me. the growing stack slowly and tangibly reflected my growing repertoire.

i recognized early that food is the universal language; i wanted to be fluent. meals bring us together; holidays are centered around a dinner table. every recipe shrinks the gap among generations, each clinking glass rings out with esprit de corps.

while studying abroad in paris, and rather lonely, i stumbled upon some of the best company i’ve ever had: a lone table by the kitchen galley window in a tiny restaurant on l’ile. my french was (is) atrocious, but armed with an appetite and some enthusiasm, i somehow convinced the chefs to let me stay and watch their every move. with a journal and my plate as company, i feasted my eyes as they whisked, kneaded, and chopped, drowned chicken thighs in wine, or tenderly painted pastry with a butter-soaked brush. it didn’t matter that we couldn’t speak; anything we needed to communicate was right there on the plate. while they filled my belly, i filled my book with notes on their technique.

my formal training came later, in a kitchen at the lorenzo d’medici institute in florence, where, fueled by espresso in excess, i spent each day cooking my way through the cuisines of the various italian regions. 

when i returned to the states, my skills, old and new, were put to use in some of the most beautiful kitchens in all of manhattan.

Commitment to Quality Treats & Eats

i am committed to using sustainable, organic, and local ingredients whenever possible. i scant sugar, and rely heavily on fresh herbs. i believe in the transcendent nature of food, and in the power of a good meal. 

Available services

• personal chef work 
• catering & service for private events
• signature sage shortbread cookies
• menu planning & recipe testing
• dinner parties
• dessert delivery