Becoming a chef was never part of the plan. That journey began when I picked up a part time job at a pizza joint in college. I immediately fell in love with the pace and intensity of the restaurant and food service industry. I moved around from multiple pizza places and small restaurants before landing a lunch chef position in a Natural Food Store.  It was this job that cemented my eventual culinary career path. It was here that I was first left to my own devices and asked to create daily dishes from scratch without recipes and with minimal guidance.  On a daily basis I encountered ingredients that I had never seen before.  Every day farmers showed up on the back dock with random vegetables they needed to off load, every day I tried something new, cooked something new, made something new…

       It was a huge learning experience for me.  It was eye opening.  It was challenging.  It was amazing.  And I was in love...

​

      I eventually went back to school and earned a culinary degree.  And since that time I've worked in critically acclaimed restaurants under James Beard Award winning chefs, I've run kitchens in both Ski and Beach Resorts, and I've successfully led culinary teams across multiple outlets in large hotels and convention centers across multiple states.

 

        I am currently the Executive Chef at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Spa and Convention Center in Northwest Arkansas.  We boast a 400 room hotel and over 120,000 square feet of meeting and preconvention space; hosting everything from small local groups to SEC football teams and large Tyson and Walmart corporate events. 

​

       I am also the Chief Culinary Advisor at Kiwi Restaurant Partners and a sitting board member for nurish brands -  Assiting in menu and recipe development for new concepts and consulting on operations and menus for various partners.

​

        In my spare time I've recently started work on a how-to catering and banquet cook book for both novices and pros in the industry. From the basic math to cooking for hundreds of guests, to the economy of motion for peak efficiency and to the equipment needed to make it all happen. More to come!

​

​