"Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates

​Creating delicious meals is something that I do daily. Growing up on the beach on the east coast of Florida, I saw a lot of influence from the south and the water surrounding our tiny island of St. Augustine Beach.  A new awareness about eating animals awakened in me at the age of 9 when I became a vegetarian. For over 25 years, I have continued to educate myself about health, nutrition, eating locally and sustainably, whole foods, organic farming, and factory animal agriculture. I have been preparing wholesome, plant-based, and raw food in restaurants, private catering, farmers markets, and our popular farm-to-table dinners with my business Yogarden in Waimanalo, HI.  My mission as a chef is to encourage people to eat food that is local and abundant to where they live, to support local farmers, eat according to what's in season, and to spend money sparingly on foods that are imported. My work as a chef is to share with people how to create comforting, healthy and nourishing meals predominately with what's growing around them, such as my abundant island home in Hawaii.