It's a good thing that I love to cook, I've been doing it since I was 12! I was born in New York City, my mother worked and my father ran a diner in Harlem. When I was born, a neighbor, who was a German woodcrafter, gave my mother a rolling pin that he had made. "This is all I can give you for the birth of your child," he said. Little did he know that I would later become a certified pastry chef, having studied with Gunther Heiland, the Austrian pastry master and owner of Desserts International in Exton, PA. I'm a good "bench baker," I like the grudge work, producing mass amounts of things. But don't ask me to decorate!
When I was 9 years old my family moved to Pittsburgh. I have one older sister. When I was 12, I did all the cooking - everyone worked, and when they came home, I was expected to have dinner ready.

In 1979, I began baking for restaurants and gourmet shops in the area, including Kaufmann's Department Store bakery in downtown Pittsburgh. For 10 years, I baked and sold pastries, specializing in the pastries of my Greek Orthodox heritage. By word-of-mouth, my business grew and expanded into full service catering. I didn't even have a listed phone number!

In 1985 I opened my own kitchen at our current location of 100 Central Square, in Mt. Lebanon.

You'll find information here about my catering services, all of my cooking classes as well as links to all of my featured recipes that I know you'll enjoy and use time and time again. Feel free to e-mail me with your questions and requests about my catering services or cooking classes in Pittsburgh!