I grew up in Chappaqua, NY. I started cooking in high school because I was always late for dinner because of after school activities. In college, I started trying new recipes, but only things I could make in my toaster oven! Currently, I am a graduate student in biomedical science at Washington University in St. Louis. I live in an apartment and FINALLY have a real kitchen. In fact, they redid my kitchen right before I moved in so everything is brand new! I have been taking cooking classes at Viking here in St. Louis and exploring different cuisines and recipes on my own. Any chocolate dessert, especially Viennese Chocolate Mousse Cake, Sun-dried tomato balsamic chicken and a variation on Chicken Cacciatore that I invented in college using whatever vegetables were fresh at the fruit and veggie stand by my apartment. I have gotten very into making Thai cuisine, which is suprisingly simple provided you can find the ingredients. I took a demonstration class at Viking called "Chocolate Lover's Lair." The instructor made the Viennese Chocolate Mousse cake and I was determined to make it. Needless to say, she took a lot less time and made much less of a mess than I did. But, I eventually got it right (with chocolate in my hair, on my clothes and all over the kitchen). It came out great! All my friends and family were so impressed. Now I make it all the time for parties. I bought a slow cooker last fall and decided to try a chicken recipe in it . . . on a night when friends were coming over for dinner. Big mistake. I had never used a slow cooker before. The chicken was so dry and had no flavor and I had to serve it! It was very embarrassing. They haven't been back for dinner . . .