I love connecting with people, especially over something delicious.

I’ve been cooking for forever, but professionally for a little over a decade. I started my culinary career at Delfina Restaurant, in San Francisco’s Mission District. The kind and talented cooks there taught me how to build flavor and how to be efficient. I learned good technique and how to work clean. Working the line gave me a rush of adrenaline every night and showed me how good it feels to watch people smile as they take the first bite of the food you’ve prepared for them. I taught Cooking Matters classes at clinics in Oakland, helping patients rework their favorite recipes into something healthier and giving them confidence to take ownership over their own well-being without sacrificing the flavors that make food the pleasure it is.

Connecting with people over food happens daily. I’ve hosted and cooked for so many holidays and parties, and I know the relentlessness of making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my husband and three kids (they’re 10, 7, and 3) each and every day. I wrote a cookbook, and am involved in a couple of food-focused nonprofits that I love, Hot Bread Kitchen and FoodCorps. I have a BA from Princeton University, a masters in International Affairs from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Certificate in Culinary Medicine from Harvard Medical School.

What I’ve learned along the way is that feeding yourself and your family is empowering and it can dramatically change the way you feel about yourself, your body, and the flow of your day. Everyone gets stuck sometimes, and often changing the way you eat or think about food is a perfect first step to feeling good about so much more.