Chef/Cooking School Instructor
For more than two years Eataly gave me the keys to the cooking school at Eataly in Boston. Together with my fellow italiaphile and colleague Kristen Clark we put on some incredible, authentic and delicious classes. Now I am teaching cooking classes and doing product training programs for producers I love.
My indcredible husband John Anthony Rizzo has taken me along for the ride of a lifetime. His images grace the pages of magazines, advertising campaigns and cookbooks. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with some incredible chefs and more than a few grandmothers! I’ve helped feed hundreds of people at the IPNC and worked the line at more than a few special events helping my friends. John and I donated to and raised money for Oregon Food Bank and Share our Strength.
In Italy I ran TourPiemonte.com. I did culinary tours and cooking classes all around Piemonte. My most popular class was called nonni e cuochi (grandmothers and chefs).
Speaker
I’m a teacher at heart and I don’t mind talking to large groups of people. As a result, I’ve had the opportunity to speak at conferences about a variety of topics like business management for creative entrepreneurs, the art of negotiation among other exciting subjects and I am quite proud that in 2006 I represented America and gave a lecture on the American truffle market to the Italian gathering at the l’Ente Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d’Alba
Writer
Early in my career I wrote technical manuals that no one read. In Oregon I got the opportunity to write some restaurant reviews and travel stories for the Portland Tribune and Oregonian. When we moved to Italy I got a few paid writing gigs before the internet changed everything. Now John and I occasionally publish stories on JnDMagazine.
Some legit projects I’ve done:
Portland Tribune, Purple Guide
Barbaresco Terroir
50 Vendemmie in Barbaresco
Consultant and trainer
I worked for a long time for big corporations. My job was designing customized software and training companies how to implement new systems. I worked in many different jobs and when I left the comfort of a regular paycheck and jumped into the deep end of self employment, I was lucky to have found incredible clients that needed my advice, assistance and expertise.
When I moved to Italy I started an ESL language training consulting business working for several of Italy’s largest companies including Ferrero, Miroglio, Slow Food and Mondo. At Ferrero I was lucky enough to work with the change manager at a time when we used the ESL program to diffuse management philosophy messaging throughout the organization.
The way-way back
If you want more background (or to see a younger version of me!), you can read this interview.