Aside from cooking, she enjoys a variety of unique sports including skydiving, boxing and slalom waterskiing.
As a child, her family moved frequently from Jacksonville, Florida to St. Augustine, Houston and New Orleans but eventually settled in Memphis, Tennessee. Attended the University of Memphis and graduated in 1999 with a degree in communications.
In 2004, she moved to New York City and attended the French Culinary Institute, graduating in November 2005.