I was born in Charleston and spent most of my formative years in Columbia, including my first foray into the hospitality industry while in high school. After high school, I attended the University of South Carolina while trying to nail down my future. Ultimately, I enrolled in the Art Institute of Charleston and in 2011 I earned my Associate of Arts degree in Culinary Arts.

I’ve spent most of the last 20 years working in nearly every corner of this industry, from high-volume casual dining and fast food to high-end fine dining and demanding brigade kitchens. I enjoy bringing my experiences, the successes and failures, to the table in an effort to educate and guide the team at Leaside.

Joining Southern Way has been an extraordinary experience for me and I enjoy seeing what every day will bring to the forefront. Having a team as large as we have in Columbia and executing the volume of events that we see come through our kitchen is a rewarding (sometimes daunting) challenge, but the contributions by everyone involved keep us moving forward.

My favorite memory at Southern Way would have to be the crash course in catering I got my first weekend with the company. I worked floor staff at a wedding in Highlands, NC on Saturday while trying to learn everything that was happening around me. And then Sunday we had 1500+ guests on the Gervais Street Bridge Dinner. My appreciation of the teamwork here at Southern Way has no bounds, it truly is the reason this company succeeds and I’m thrilled to be a part of this group of people.