I graduated from the College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN, with a bachelor’s degree in music, and worked as a professional classical and contemporary church musician for over 20 years. I decided to pursue my passion of food and returned to culinary arts college in 2004. I trained at  The Art Institutes International Minnesota in baking and pastries as well as a little savory cooking. I served on the American Culinary Federation competition teams in 2005 and 2006 (see awards below). I worked as a professional pastry chef at Cosmos, Five Restaurant, Patisserie Margo and staged at JP’s American Bistro, Zelo, and Lucia’s Restaurant. I also operate The Cake Diva LLC, providing decadent wedding cakes, specialty cakes, and small desserts featuring classic American and traditional European pastries. Learn more at The Cake Diva.

Awards Received:

• Bronze and Silver Medals in the ACF Junior Hot Food Competitions, Minneapolis, MN.
• Sue Zelickson Award for academic and professional achievement, 2005, Minneapolis, MN.
• 2nd prize in the 3-tiered cakes division at the prestigious National 2005 Oklahoma City, OK Sugar Art Show.
• Gold medal at the 2007 Chocolate Extravaganza competition, Minneapolis, MN.