My passion for cooking began shortly after graduating from Florida State with a degree in Literature.  I didn't really know what I was going to do with my degree and so, in the meantime, I started working with some friends at Karl Mark's catering. I really enjoyed being in the kitchen, with good tunes playing, and picking up techniques from watching chef and owner Mark Suber.  As a newlywed, I wanted to try cooking a variety of recipes at home for my husband and our friends at get-togethers and enthusiastically bought a slew of cookbooks to expand my repertoire. As the years went by, I became a mother, a teacher and an FSU student again, working on my master's degree. Cooking remained a fun hobby and outlet for me and looking back, my most rewarding days of teaching involved themed projects which always incorporated food.   

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Fast forward to about 8 years ago when I began doing some personal chef work and decided I was ready for larger events, so I started A-Rustic-Affair.  I specialized in a healthier style of cooking using mostly organic ingredients to create my versions of classic comfort dishes and simple fresh favorites.

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Always interested in trying something new with my business, I thought a food truck would be a fitting direction for me to go.  I had started offering pre-ordered family meals a few years ago and a food truck would add more opportunities and convenience for myself and my clients.  I incorporated a preorder menu along with traditional food truck fare and catering for my Rustic Eats Food Truck.  It was an exciting and exhausting 3-year venture with the truck, but ultimately, I knew the food truck schedule and lifestyle was not for me.  

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It was time again to reflect and pivot to a new direction using my passion for cooking.  I've decided what I love most is creating recipes, sharing hacks for making things simpler when cooking at home or entertaining a crowd, and also finding ways to organize your kitchen and life. So, Rustic Eats and A-Rustic-Affair will attempt a new journey in the digital landscape. This may prove to be a challenge since I'm not very adept with social media, but you don't know what you can do until you try. Starting off, the best place to follow along will be my pinterest and instagram account and subscribing to my newsletter which will be sent out around once a month. 

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