I realized that what I really want is to help people learn to cook. 

That might sound simple, but in today’s world, it’s an incredible tool of self-agency and healing. 

Cooking isn’t just about feeding ourselves. It’s about reclaiming our choices, our nourishment, and our connection to the world around us. I believe that knowledge is power. Anyone can cook when they’re given the right understanding.

Now I split my time between teaching culinary arts in New Jersey and serving as the VP of Operations at Strategic Action Health, where I help people navigate the healthcare system — and, ideally, stay out of it.

This work is deeply aligned with the mission behind B&T Bodega. Because food can heal. And it doesn’t have to be complicated or anything less than delicious.

I spent years in restaurants, and I love them.

The pace, the teamwork, and the adrenaline are addictive. But I was constantly trying to prove my skills by outworking everyone around me, and in the process, I completely neglected my own health. This is not uncommon in the restaurant industry — feeding everyone but yourself.

I didn’t know I was sabotaging my hormones and running my nervous system into the ground. Eventually, my system failed. I couldn’t work the line very night. It became very clear that something had to change.

When I stepped away from the line and started working on recipe development, personal cheffing, and nutrition-based culinary work, I found a new kind of fulfillment. I began serving athletes, folks with chronic illness, and people navigating complex dietary needs. I saw food shift from precision and adrenaline to medicine, nourishment, self-agency and confidence.

I worked as a recipe developer and food writer for cookbooks, websites, and blogs. I learned to communicate the magic of these recipes with people who were really reading them and trying to learn.

I began to weave the web of agriculture, locality, health and self-sufficiency into one tapestry. When I started teaching as a culinary instructor, everything clicked.