I began working in the restaurant/bar industry in Chicago when I was 15 years old. Starting out as a prep cook and working my up to the wood fired pizza ovens. When I got to San Francisco I moved from the kitchen to the front of the house and began training as a bartender. Over the years I have worked as a bar/restaurant consultant, a brand ambassador, a cook and for more than a decade I owned and operated a cafe in the North Beach district of San Francisco. I have been very fortunate in having had the opportunity to work alongside some very creative, intelligent and passionate individuals. They have inspired in me a lifelong interest in food, drink and hospitality.