My Passion Becomes a Profession

Once I graduated from UCLA with my history degree in hand, my sister Holly and I booked a lightning tour of Europe on a Eurail Pass. We ate very well indeed. Our inaugural pizza in Rome had me smitten with the gorgonzola and it sealed my future career. It still has its way with me decades later in my dreams of Italy.

When I returned, I headed to New York City to study classic French cuisine at Peter Kump’s Cooking School (now the Institute for Culinary Education). After graduation came the required externship. While the idea of working in some of the greatest kitchens in the world was tempting, I was drawn back to Los Angeles by the Mexican foods I’d come to love. At that time, they simply didn’t exist in New York.