Meet Chef Bree
My love of food began as a young girl making “deals” with my mother when it came to my chores. I would say to her, “I’ll mow the backyard if you’ll buy this ingredient (insert exotic food here) so I can make this (insert culinary challenging recipe here) tonight”. Or “I’ll do the laundry if I can have three friends over for a dinner party tomorrow night” and so on. Needless to say, I didn’t always follow through with the “deals”, but I was always whipping up dessert or something savory in my mother’s kitchen in the Bronx.
After attending the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY where I double majored in biology and psychology, I decided to focus on food full time. I enrolled at the “Harvard” of culinary schools, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. It is at the CIA where I honed my culinary and pastry skills by studying classical French technique and learning everything I could about the cuisines of the world. I graduated top of my class and had a job waiting for me in New York City.
I began working in some of the top restaurants in New York City including Mario Batali’s Otto
Enoteca, Lidia Bastianich’s Del Posto, Koi Restaurant at the Bryant Park Hotel, Todd English’s The
Libertine, and Thomas Keller’s Per Se. I worked both savory and pastry stations because I respected and appreciated both disciplines. In my mind to be a great chef, one needed to be well versed in both fields. During this time I became an avid vegetable and herb gardener and vowed to use only local and sustainable ingredients in my cooking.
In February 2009 I launched Baking By Bree, A Personal Chef & Baker Service, with the goal of bringing high quality restaurant food to the home kitchen. In addition to my culinary degree, I am a Certified Journey Baker from the Retail Bakers of America, a Certified Food Handler from the New York City Health Department, as well as ServSafe certified. I am a member of the American Personal & Private Chef Association, Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, the American Culinary Federation, and Slow Food USA.