When planning menus for private cooking classes, I like first to find out what clients would like to learn. I then turn to the season to see what is at its peak. Every menu I create is customized to each client. I scour the farmers markets for the perfect seasonal ingredients, and present a variety of options for learning. My goal is to teach people how to cook simple and elegant menus while highlighting the use of fresh herbs, bright colors, and unique presentations.

  Good dishes and menus are about balance. Cookbooks provide recipes but few of them put those recipes into a meaningful meal, and if there are menus included, the secrets to how those menus are created are rarely included.

 An outstanding menu is alluring and has an air of romance about it. This is often mistakenly viewed as only possible in the domain of an accomplished chef-the creative genius at work combining flavors and textures, subtleties and nuances to create a menu that your average person can't imagine. Without discounting any of the inspiring and gifted chefs in the culinary world it should be noted that the principles used in professional kitchens are the same as in the home. Learning the nuances of those elements will be a key in building your own brilliant menus, driven by creativity, imagination and intuition

The food that I create is always changing. I use the techniques I've learned and practiced over the years to come up with new dishes, and of course, I like to cook the classics.

I've listed a few menus and dishes that represent my style of cooking. Enjoy!