I am a cultural creative; a career foodservice veteran, an arts and music advocate, a 25 year vegetarian, a champion of conscious cuisine. My culinary career started in earnest apprenticing for a few years under Chef Jimmy Schmidt, a co-founder of Chef's Collaborative, embracing the influences of Madeline Kamman and the Nouvelle Cuisine movement of the early 1980's. From there, a simple turn in the road led me to the natural foods movement, which is where I have been working since 1989.

I've been involved with unions, corporate kitchens and independent operators, and was also chef/owner of a successful arts/activist cafe loacted near dowtown Detroit for 7 years. I've managed bands, hosted poetry series, published DIY 'zines, produced music and shows and done PR for friends in the music business through it all, and continue to do so. In June 2013, I published my most recent 20-page 'zine and music compilation, called Minneapolis Underground, Volume One.

Since 2001, I have been working with natural and organic foods at retail food co-ops across the country through my role at the St. Paul, Minnesota offices of the National Cooperative Grocers Association.