My professional culinary journey began in 1999 when I graduated The French Culinary Institute in New York City, quit my Wall Street tech job, and cut my teeth behind the line with stints at Les Olivades in Paris, The Savoy in New York City, and Julia’s Kitchen in Napa.

Along the way, I started a boutique catering company in Brooklyn, NY, where I quickly became the premier caterer for Morrell Wines. Catering for Morrell allowed me to nurture my interest in wine, crafting customized wine-pairing dinners and tasting events. But, after nearly a decade and a half in New York, I longed for warmer weather and new adventures.

In 2006, I left New York City to become a chef to the superyacht industry. I thrived on the challenges of cooking in new and unfamiliar places on a near weekly basis, navigating foreign markets, and haggling with locals over fresh ingredients as I cooked and sailed my way throughout the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and Mexico. It was a wonderful adventure where I had many opportunities to cook alongside seasoned professionals and locals alike as I explored the new flavors and cuisines of the countries I visited. However, as a Bay Area native, home was calling and in 2014, I returned to Northern California to make Sonoma my new home.
 

In 2016, after a few years of cooking at wineries and in vacation rentals around wine country, I began Spread as an homage to my Lebanese roots, love of travel, and the bounty of the Sonoma and Napa Valleys. In 2020,  due to the pandemic, I shifted Spread away from full-service catering and instead shifted to selling to meal kits, prepared food, and drop-off catering. I wanted to bring fresh, healthy, inspired cooking to our community wider while offering plentiful options for omnivores. vegans, vegetarian, and gluten-free alike. In 2021, I began selling at the Sonoma and Napa Farmers’ Markets. May 2022, opened my first brick and mortar, Spread Kitchen, in Sonoma.

​

My style is best described as inspired Lebanese cooking with a California touch. Our menus change seasonally and I source as much of our ingredients as possible from local farms and producers throughout the Bay Area. Respect - for the ingredients, my customers, and the people I work with - is the cornerstone of my business. Everything we serve is made by hand, from scratch and with love.