YOUR
CHEF

Where It Began:

My interest in food started when I was just 12 years old. I remember picking fresh fruits and vegetables with my grandmother in her backyard garden. In those days, most people still grew their own food. I miss those times. I regularly played the role of “sous chef” in the kitchen when my grandmother was preparing dinner. However, one day I asked if I could prepare dinner, and she very proudly obliged. I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs that day, because we had just picked so many wonderful vegetables from the garden. Not to mention, spaghetti and meatballs was one of my favorite meals! At 12, this was the first meal I had ever cooked myself—and I have to say, my homemade meatballs and sauce were a hit! In that moment, I knew this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. In the same day, the idea of being able to harvest fresh fruits and vegetables planted in the backyard with my own hands, create a meal, and put dinner on the table using all ingredients that I harvested made me proud. Now that’s the original farm-to-table! Even today, when I think back, I get nostalgic, as I can still smell the aromas and taste the meatballs cooking in my grandmother’s kitchen.​