Back in 2018, I discovered my passion for the kitchen while interning at Mary Jane’s Farm in Moscow, Idaho. At the age of 16, I was beginnin my summer days 7-9 am muckin cow pens, then 9-5 either in the design studio or the test kitchen, developing recipes, shooting staged photos of my food, & editing photos. I then began working at Lodgepole in May of 2019. With zero restaurant experience & a desire to work in the kitchen (I specifically wanted to make desserts for Lodgepole), I was hired as a FOH support member. I bussed tables, kept customers’ glasses full, & of course polished silver & glass. I quickly took up the hosting position and eventually summer 2019 I was working as a server. I loved working as a server; the hustle bustle, the juggle of happy & moody customers, the stories and connections with customers, the fake smiles, the genuine smiles, etc… My time at Lodgepole was unfortunately interrupted by the pandemic, and I returned to Mary Jane’s Farm March 2020. I developed a handful of new backpacking food recipes & packed dry camping food more than full time as people panicked and purchased copious amounts of emergency food.

Come June 2020, I was back at Lodgepole (& still working at Mary Jane’s), and I was in the open kitchen on pantry. I would show up to work at noon, prep, work service; slangin' salads, meat n cheese boards, desserts, and eventually, I’d close. I picked up expediting too, I very much enjoyed directing the flow of the kitchen during service, helping other chefs with plating, & being the primary communication between FOH & BOH.

Summer of 2021 I was taught how to make the tartine demibaguette by the then sous chef, Liz. Then, August 2021 I took over the pastry chef position, crafting the dessert menu & baking all of the bread for Lodgepole. My first dessert I ever created was an incredibly simple summer berry tart with a vanilla pastry cream, hazelnuts, strawberry, & blueberry sauce. While technically yes, I did truly hold the title of head pastry chef from the get go because no one else was making desserts, I did not feel as if I fully owned that title at Lodgepole until I created my cajeta mousse & huckleberry dessert for 2022 WSU & UI grad weekends. Fast forward to Spring 2023, and I rolled out my cajeta mousse with grilled & bruleed pineapple, coconut marshmallow & tuile, & a coconut rum fluid gel for 2023 WSU & UI grad weekends.

I moved to Chicago in late October 2023 & joined the circus. Since then, I have created a pastry program & small team where we slang 100-300 desserts per night allllllll at once! It’s a hell of a doozy!