After some time searching for an appropriate career path in my twenties while indulging multiple interests (I studied mathematics and music in college), I finally came to realize that pastry was what I truly wanted to pursue. I talked my way into a baking job or two around Boston to prove to myself I could do it without a culinary education (I’m stubborn like that), then I started up the ladder, working for Todd English at Michela’s in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the late 80’s, where English first staked his culinary claims. After several years of working in some of Boston’s better hotels, I then worked again for Chef Todd at the original Olives in Boston, where my creations garnered Boston Magazine’s ‘Best of Boston’ award for Best Desserts two years in a row. Around this time I also appeared in Julia Child’s Baking with Julia television series and cookbook, an experience I’m truly honored to have had.

More hotel experience followed, and then after a recommendation from my ex-Chef at the Four Seasons, I landed in Burlington, Vermont as a Lead Pastry Instructor at New England Culinary Institute, where I worked for three years in one of the most rewarding positions of my career.

I now find myself at Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino in Lakeside, CA, where I have been for well over the past two years. In addition to my work as a Pastry Chef I also spearhead curriculum development and instruction for the pastry and baking portion of our ACF Culinary Apprenticeship Program.

Despite the hours in the kitchen and the occasional mind-numbing frustrations, I still love my work, and find it ties in well with my love of math and music. Most of all it allows a constant connection to my family, to my two grandmothers in particular, who each uniquely and continually expressed the deeper parts of themselves through food and cooking.

For Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino information, visit www.barona.com or call toll free 888-7-BARONA (722-7662)