I grew up in New York City and loved seeing live theater on and off Broadway. I wanted to be an actress. I attended the School of the Performing Arts, the inspiration for the movie “Fame”. My professional credits include acting in the Off-Broadway production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest”.
Eventually, I lived in France and Italy and I developed a love of food and cooking. I studied language, culture and cooking. My experiences in these two countries forever changed the way I view preparing and eating food.
Back home in New York City, I honed my baking skills when I worked in the pastry kitchen for two restaurants owned by French Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. It was a memorable experience that included making hundreds of crepes for Restaurant Week. Yes, I can teach you to make gluten-free crepes!
I also owned an upscale cafe called Art of the Sandwich; ironic since I later had to give up all gluten bread! Unfortunately, my business was financially affected by the economy after the 9/11 attack. Customers loved my made-to-order food; but were not spending money freely on gourmet food and catering.
After I closed my food business, my interest in food led me to enroll in graduate school to become a teacher. I earned an education degree in Family and Consumer Sciences, formerly called Home Economics. I enjoyed teaching students life skills, nutrition needs and to cook, and bake.
A few years into teaching, I learned I was gluten intolerant. Eliminating gluten made it difficult to teach baking with gluten flours. But, I still wanted to bake. After a period of greiving…don’t we all grieve when we have to give up gluten foods? I used my culinary knowledge to create baked goods with good taste and texture.
I did discover challenges in creating my gluten-free life: food shopping; kitchen and pantry set-up; especially baking without gluten; eating safely at work and school; dining out and traveling; handling social occasions and more. I realized that being gluten-free was a lifestyle, not just a different way of eating. This was my eureka moment!
The path to a diverse lifestyle became the foundation of my coaching program. The program is divided into three levels: “Learn, Live, Love”. The first level is acquiring basic knowledge. The second level develops skills for meeting daily challenges. Finally, in the third level, you develop the confidence to be proactive in all aspects of your gluten-free lifestyle.
I began by coaching others in the schools where I taught and neighbors who wanted to enjoy their life without gluten. I believe that self-confidence is the key to enhancing your gluten-free lifestyle. I can help you find that key. I have made it my mission to empower individuals to create a healthy, safe and joyful lifestyle.
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