I was born and raised in Memphis, but did not begin cooking professionally until I moved to San Francisco. My early culinary education happened twice a week at the San Francisco Civic Center Farmer’s Market, which contains an abundance of varied, beautiful produce. I worked for Robert Cubberly at Petit Robert in San Francisco before moving to New Orleans to work for Donald Link in August of 2005. All of my training came from shopping at Bay Area markets and working for talented and dedicated Chefs. My focus has always been based on local products and French technique: first through the light and fresh cooking of Northern California, and later through the robust food of New Orleans and South Louisiana.