Born and raised in New York, Chef Emily started cooking as soon as she was old enough to stand on a step stool to reach the kitchen counter. As she taught herself how to cook through culinary school textbooks, she landed her first internship at Del Posto (1 Michelin Star) at age 15, and then proceeded to work at some of the most widely-acclaimed restaurants in NYC over the next 15 years, including Jean Georges’s Public Hotel, where she ran the pastry program, Meadowsweet (1 Michelin Star), Maloney & Porcelli, Dirt Candy (1 Michelin Star), and Danny Meyer’s Ci Siamo, where she was the opening Executive Pastry Chef. Emily was also featured on Food Network’s “Chopped” where she came in second place. While her primary passion will always be cooking and hospitality, she is currently in school for neuropsychology, which she is pursuing to further explore the profound physical and spiritual healing power of food, and other means of holistic healing. Emily owns Instagram-based micro-bakery Dirtybird Sweets, where she won Hester Street Fair’s “Best Ice Cream in NYC” by a landslide vote 2 years running.

In addition to neuroscience and psychology, including conducting research at Yale, NYU, and Vanderbilt University, Emily’s educational background includes courses in nutrition, food science, and dietetics, which have informed her passion for preparing food to maintain its nutritional integrity, and prioritizing fresh, minimally processed seasonal ingredients.

Hiring a private chef doesn’t need to feel intimidating. Above all, Emily values community and accessibility to high quality and thoughtfully-sourced ingredients, supporting local farmers and producers by bringing the bounty of the Northeast directly to your table.

Whether crafting an intimate dinner party, impressing clients for a corporate event, planning a special date night, craving the peace of mind of a fridge stocked with nutritious meals, or not sure where to start and want to come up with something special together, Emily will work within a range of budgets to curate a memorable experience.

Attention to detail is only one aspect that makes Chef Emily’s events special: sometimes this means noticing when a client has pre-event jitters, hasn’t eaten all day, and offering a snack. Other times this has been selecting vintage maple syrup carafes for a catered brunch, or packing candles for a birthday cake, just in case. Chef Emily is always looking for details to not just enhance your experience, but make sure you feel considered and cared for. To Emily, even professional cooking is not simply a transaction, but an act of intimacy and community that deserves the utmost thoughtfulness and intention.

*A note on dietary accommodations:

No one should feel like their dietary preferences or restrictions are a burden. Chef Emily has worked extensively with vegan, pescatarian, gluten free, nut-free, keto, Ayurvedic, postpartum, low-FODMAP, and other diets, and is happy to discuss lifestyle preferences without judgement.

*Gluten free diets can be accommodated, though may not be appropriate for individuals with celiac disease, as food is prepared in a kitchen also used to prepare wheat products.