Cooking and entertaining are my passion! I started cooking at the age of thirteen when my mother showed me how to cook spaghetti with meatballs.  Since then I have been hooked on cooking.  At the age of twenty, I joined the United States Navy.  I specifically joined the Navy as a Culinary Specialist because the Navy has one of the best culinary schools out of all the military branches with civilian instructors from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy to the Culinary in 1991 and graduated in 1992.  But when I was in culinary school, recruiters from Camp David Presidential Retreat came and asked if any of the students were interested at Camp David. Of course, I immediately signed up and was selected! Out of 150 students, I was selected along with another student from a different graduating class.  I then passed all the necessary background investigation by the FBI and USSS and was on my way to Camp David.

I was stationed at Camp David Presidential Retreat from 1992-1993 and worked under the White House Military Office.  During my time at Camp David, I, along with nine other Navy enlisted personnel, personally served and cooked for President George Bush, Sr., First Lady Barbara Bush, Vice President Dan Quayle and Second Lady Marilyn Quayle and of course many of the President's guest.  I had the honor of cooking for Prime Minister John Majors of Great Britain, Prime Minister Mulroney of Canada and celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Amy Grant, George Strait etc.

When the Navy was downsizing and so was Camp David, I was asked to see if I would be interested in transferring to The White House. Of course I said yes!  Within a week, I was transferred to the White House Staff Mess ("WHSM"), a fine dining restaurant in the West Wing that served the President, First Lady and Senior Staff members like David Gergen, Leon Panetta, Sandy Berger, George Stephanoupolis and Dee Dee Myers, while they are in the West Wing during working hours.  While I was at the WHSM, I also worked with Executive Chef Walter Scheib, the main residence chef, on state dinners and special events.  This really taught me a lot about the culinary field and gave me a broad range of recipes to work with.  I was very fortunate to have cooked for and worked on events that served many foreign dignitaries like Nelson Mandela and celebrities like Tom Hanks, Jimmy Buffett, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Oliver Stone, James Woods, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, Crosby, Stills and Nash and many more.  I was also a member of the advance travel team along with the US Secret Service and got to travel with the President and Senior Staff within the United States and abroad to make sure that the meals prepared for the President were secure.  I worked at The White House from 1993 through late 1995 and was offered another culinary experience elsewhere.

When offered the opportunity of working in Hawaii as a personal chef for a Four-Star Admiral, I did not refuse.  I was then sent to CINCPACFLT Pearl Harbor, HI for my next culinary adventure.  As a personal chef for a high ranking Navy official, I learned many aspects of menu planning and shopping on a personal level.  The likes and dislikes of the Admiral and so forth.  I even got to use some of my Japanese that I have been taking when dealing with Ambassadors and Admirals from Japan.  My Navy enlistment ended here and I then ventured of to Los Angeles, CA to start my next culinary adventure.