I was born to a family of great home cooks, in a household that loved to entertain. Our family sat down to a home-cooked-from-scratch meal every night, and we didn’t even have a microwave until I was nearly out of high school. My mom, my first culinary instructor, taught me to butcher and roast a chicken when I was fourteen, and I’ve always loved cooking shows and experimenting in the kitchen. After taking a detour through the art world (I have a BA in Art History from NYU and worked in a contemporary art gallery for several years), I decided to take the plunge and go to culinary school. I graduated from The Natural Gourmet Institute in 2009, and have been working as Personal Chef in New York City ever since.

My food philosophy is simple: the best ingredients, handled with respect and properly cooked. The rest comes down to working with my clients’ personal preferences and dietary requirements to create meals perfectly suited for their nourishment and pleasure. My cooking style covers a wide range of flavors, but in recent years I’ve been honing in on the cuisines of the Caucasus Region and the Middle East. If you’re in New York City, you can check out Salt & Pomegranates, a series of dinners and cooking classes in which I explore the cuisines of Georgia, Iran, and everything in between.