My Story

Where I've Been. What Drives Me.

I grew up in the foothills of the Ozarks, where food wasn't just something you ate, it was how families survived, celebrated, solved problems, and stayed connected. My grandparents' kitchens, gardens, roadside restaurants, and community tables taught me lessons that no culinary school ever could.

Life took me far beyond those dirt roads. Over the last fifty years I've cooked in legendary New Orleans restaurants, played music in Jackson Square, traveled across America chasing ideas and experiences, worked alongside remarkable chefs, farmers, teachers, students, nonprofits, businesses, and communities, and helped lead projects that use food to strengthen people and places.

The journey hasn't always been easy. Like many people, I've known loss, uncertainty, and moments that changed everything. Those experiences taught me that the most meaningful conversations happen around a dinner table.

Today my work brings together everything I've learned. “Food is never just food.”

It connects people. It tells our stories. It teaches. It heals. It builds community.

I've spent a lifetime discovering that food was never the destination, it was always the invitation.

An invitation into people's lives. Into communities. Into hard conversations. Into celebrations. Into healing.

I'm still learning, still cooking, still writing songs, and still believing that the best conversations begin with someone saying...

"Pull up a chair."

I've been fortunate to cook in remarkable places, collaborate with extraordinary people, and help build projects that connect food with education, sustainability, and community. But beneath every recipe, every kitchen, every song, and every story is the same simple belief:

Food is the great connector.

That's the story I'm still living.