Hi! I'm Evelyn.
I started cooking when I was 6 years old. At least that is as early as I can remember. For the first 5 years of my life, my mother, father and I would go to my Grandmother’s house every Sunday for dinner. By the time I was 12 I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner for my family all by myself. (Well, I had my grandma looking over my shoulder, but still, I did the cooking.) In high school and in college and I would cook for my friends and their dates. Through my cooking I’ve even helped a few people get married (and have babies) along the way.
I remember sitting and watching cooking shows with my grandmother when I was in middle school and high school and being in awe that people got to cook for a living. My grandmother was an amazing cook. I remember coming home from college and she would make enough food to feed an army and it would just be the two of us. I love that memory.
I remember the feeling when she would have the entire family over for dinner and the food would be amazing. I also remember when she would sell dinners from her little apartment to people in the neighborhood and she would always sell out. People loved her cooking and they loved her. When other people tried to copy what she was doing, they always asked if my grandmother was the one who cooked it and if it wasn’t her, they didn’t buy. That’s when I really saw what it’s like to bring people together over food. It’s always a good time. I wanted to be able to do that.
After years of working in corporate america as an Engineer and cooking on the side, I decided to go to culinary school. To be honest, I already knew how to cook when I went to culinary school, but I wanted to be even better. I just really enjoyed feeding my friends and family and I didn’t just want to be good, I wanted to be great. And while I thought I was a good cook, I soon realized there was so much more to learn, so many new things to try. It was on of the best decisions I have ever made.
Since that time, I’ve had the pleasure of cooking for Sheryl Crow, Bishop T.D Jakes, Giada DeLaurentis and Sarah Jakes Roberts. I have had the opportunity to assist celebrity chefs such as Mario Batali, Guy Fieri of the Food Network, and Art Smith who was Oprah’s private chef. I’ve been a caterer, a personal chef, pastry chef, and cooking school manager among many other things. I’ve taught thousands of people how to cook (in real life and online) and it’s my absolute favorite thing to do. Who would have thought that food could have done all of that?
One thing that I have learned from years of cooking, is that Food heals. I’ve seen it heal families, heal relationships and even heal the body. Food brings us together and makes delicious memories. What happens over those meals is what we remember, and that is what’s most important.