My first job in San Francisco was at the age of 19 as a line cook at Bix restaurant, at the time I had switched schools to attend the California Culinary Academy. The training was intense I had immersed myself in the kitchen from 6 am - 11pm five days a week. Cooking was one of the first things that truly felt natural to me, I was surrounded by well balanced dishes growing up and my palate knew when something was missing. My search for umami became an obsession, I knew that the dishes I cooked striked the right balance when my eyes would close as I savored each bite and a smile would light up my face. I worked my way up quickly through all five stations of the restaurant and by the time I reached 21 I was promoted to Sous Chef.

After traveling Japan Extensively to learn more about the food an culture, I came back to the states and  cooked Japanese food at my house everyday for one year. To further my career I obtianed a position working with michelin starred chef Greg Dunmore to open up Nojo. The focus at Nojo was farm to table Izakaya and yakitori (Japanese pub food & Chicken Skewers) . I left there to open Foxtail Catering with Tommy Halverson and was promoted to Chef De Cuisine at the age of 24.

At the age of 26 I was presented an opportunity to work as an executive chef with Deepak Aargwal who had retired his chef hat and was the primary investor in a new concept called Tigerlily. The restaurants location is in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto two doors away from Chez Panisse. Our focus was California Cuisine with Indian and asian influences. This was the birthplace of some amazingly creative dishes such as the tikka masala fried chicken with buttermilk mashed potato's, cauliflower caponata and fried sage. Also one of my all time favorites the beer braised pork shoulder on squid ink naan with sauce soubise and hazelnut salsa verde topped with crispy ginger. The brunch menu boasted such original creations as the soy braised pork belly benedict