I’m Alan, a former chef, who grew up across from a dairy in the small town of Sisquoc on the Central Coast of California.  I started cooking at home when I was 15.  At that time, my father worked at a small local bakery and often baked at home, exposing me to the sights, smells and tastes of freshly baked bread.  This ultimately lead to my own kitchen adventures at home and beyond.

Eventually I won a spot in an American Culinary Federation Apprenticeship Program at the Five Star, Five Diamond Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, CO.  During that time I was a member of ACF Apprentice Cooking and Knowledge Competition Teams, winning six medals and a National Team Championship for Knowledge over a three year period.

After graduation, with no jobs and no place to live a classmate and I packed up a car and drove to Brooklyn, New York.  Pounding the pavement and sneaking into a few French kitchens paid off and I landed a job at Payard Bistro in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, followed by positions at Gotham Bar and Grill and Café Gray in the Time Warner Building.  At one point I was presented with an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down, so I packed up my life in New York and travelled to Spain to work at the Three Michelin Star Martin Berasategui.  After three months and missing pizza in America I travelled back to the US and took a chef’s position in the Garde Manger department at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.  Most recently I was the Chef de Cuisine at Bob’s Well Bread Bakery in Los Alamos, California.

Currently I am back living in the small town where I grew up with my wife Lauren and our dog Bugsy.