I'm a free-lance artist who hops around many North American cities. This has given me the chance to try the many local and international cuisines this great continent has to offer. Currently residing in Manhattan with my small kitchen I try to make the most if it. My mantra is eating gourmet, local , healthy and on a small budget. I very rarely measure things or follow recipes exactly. My mother says I have a knack for knowing what flavours work together. Clam Chowder, gumbo, bean salads, curries and anything with quinoa! Although I grew up in the great white north in a very traditional Canadian family, my meals growing up always had a soul food twist. My Dad had spent a lot of time in the American south and knows how to make the best fried chicken, mashed potatoes and southern seafood stews. My parents cooked a lot of meat and potatoes so me and my brother rebelled in our teenage years by adopting vegetarian and raw food diets. Although now, I am a very happy meat-eater... my brother is still a vegetarian. Learning to make french roux changed my life. Latkes, and once I prepared an intense Eggplant parmesan only to discover that my bread crumbs were over a year expired after I had put it in the oven.