I am a journalist and book author. For the past 20-plus years I have written travel, food, wine, and lifestyle articles for US and international print and digital platforms, such as Bon Appetit, Conde Nast Traveller, Hemispheres, and The New York Times.

In 2003 I wrote Untangling My Chopsticks: A Culinary Sojourn in Kyoto (Broadway) based on the year I studied tea ceremony cooking in Japan. It was a New York Times 2003 Notable Book; winner of Best Asian Cuisine Book in English at the 2003 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards; and excerpted in Best Food Writing 2003 (Marlowe & Company). I have contributed to several other books, including: Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat (Delacorte Press, 2005); Culinary Biographies (Yes Press Inc., 2006); The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide (Ten Speed Press, 2007); Fodors Boston, writing and editing the restaurant and shopping chapters (2013, 2015, 2017) .

I also am a published photographer whose credits include such publications as The Boston Globe (Travel) and Eating Well.

As a result of my work, I have appeared on national television several times, including Television Food Network’s Iron Chef America, where I was a judge for the first (2004/2005) and second (2005/2006) seasons. I also have hosted cooking segments on CBS’s The Early Show and MSNBC’s Morning Blend, among other stations.

My culinary expertise has lead to consulting and recipe development opportunities with corporate clients such as Cains Foods and Maple Leaf Farms. I also have written advertorial copy for Budget Living magazine.

I studied classic French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, where I also worked as a sous chef in a small Paris restaurant called Le Potiron (The Pumpkin). Additionally, I studied tea kaiseki (tea ceremony cooking) at Mushanokoji tea school in Kyoto, Japan. I received my BA from Harvard University.