While most people sneak into the kitchen to get a snack, I spent my life sneaking into the kitchen to cook. At 10, I thought making bean soup was more exciting than practicing the piano. At 18, I was feeding my fellow college students in exchange for help with programming assignments. After finishing my degree in Computer Science, I went to Provence, France to study art history and ended up studying the art of cooking and eating. Traveling through the Mediterranean made me fall in love with the sun drenched cuisine of the coast.
Upon return to the States, I spent most of my free time exploring the fish and farmer's markets of Boston and cooking every kind of fish and vegetable I could get my hands on. Bored with my job at a dysfunctional dot-com, and not having enough money for culinary school, I got an internship in Casablanca Restaurant, and spent my nights and weekends learning the ropes of professional cooking. What started out as a hobby turned into a teaching position at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education.
In 2005, I started my own cooking school, called Helen's Kitchen, where I teach enthusiastic home cooks professional cooking techniques. I've been doing that ever since and loving every minute of it.
- What do you cook when home alone?
- sardines
- Your most treasured kitchen possession:
- a chef's knife
- The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
- 4
