Born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey, I grew up in a family of Calabrian and Sicilian heritage. My extended family maintained healthy city gardens, made fresh pasta regularly, cured and canned their own meats and vegetables, and baked traditional specialties from recipes handed down. After a move to New York to pursue a career in theatre, I was drawn to the world of restaurants and food. Now, as a former restaurateur, chef and catering operations director, I support small hospitality start-ups in the DC area and volunteer at local food banks. At the start of the pandemic, I decided to write a series of 4 cookbooks: Carciofi, Pesce, Verdure and Brasati. In them, I document my childhood memories, recipes that I created throughout my career, and those created from memorable meals during my travels. 50% of the profit from each book sold will be donated to NO KID HUNGRY, an arm of Share Our Strength.