While I wouldn’t say cooking is my life long passion, it is certainly a hobby I enjoy a great deal. I started experimenting with fine dining cuisine during my undergrad at UCLA, where I would take “cheap” ingredients such as Top Ramen noodles and Trader Joe’s frozen dinners and turn them into “fine dining on a budget,” of sorts.
Over the years, I like to think I have enhanced my skills (and choice of ingredients). I have learned that the secret to fine dining is just a lot of butter, generous salt, and presentation. There is probably a bit more to it, but those are the basics.
While I often joke about the idea of starting my own restaurant, any time I meet someone who does this for a living, I quickly realize my skills pale in comparison, and that perhaps friends and family are not equivalent to Michelin Star judges.
So instead, I do pop-ups from time to time for friends and family. Below you will see a sample of menus and dishes I have created in a pop-up setting. They may not be as good as Attica or Osteria Francescana, but hey, my “customers” seem to think so!
