Introduction

As a child, I spent a lot of time cooking for myself, though usually, it wasn’t anything fancy. I found a creative outlet in the kitchen with whatever ingredients that I had on hand. In the summers, I would visit my grandparents in Michigan— and that was where my love for baking began. My grandma was the queen of sweets and baked us grandkids whatever we wanted. If we asked for brownies, she sat us on the counter and taught us how to make them. Little did I know that those memorable visits would end up being so formative for me. It’s what made me who I am now and truly marked the beginning of my life in the kitchen.