Producer

The 1 to 10 rating scale ends at eightpointfive in my wife’s critical mind. The journey to perfecting a recipe never ends in mine. eightpointfive is an opportunity to share my passion for food through meals that we are proud to share.

After working at several local Boone restaurants and a lifetime of being a food fanatic, eightpointfive was created in March 2021 as my personal business. My current service offerings are best tailored to food enthusiasts that want an intimate and elevated food experience. This is provided through customized in-home meals for celebrations, elopements, vacations, or just a night off from cooking and cleaning. I also offer cooking classes (most frequently pasta-making but flexible to others that align with my culinary experience) as well as small-scale catering. These services are all best suited for groups of 10 or less. Don't hesitate to reach out with interest or questions!

I focus on local sourcing and making no frills food that just. tastes. good. My style is flavor-forward and driven by curiosity, creativity, and seasonality, with primary influences from Italian, Southern, Asian, and Mexican cuisines. In cooking, and life in general, I try to respect traditions while also reinterpreting them enough to leave my own prints and do them in a way that I believe leads to the best results, or in the case of food, the best and most memorable eating experience.

With the emphasis on local sourcing, I am a certified Gold member of the Watauga Food Council's High Country Grown program. Learn more highcountrygrown.org

I believe in the humane treatment of animals in our food system. If the animal is not living its best and closest life to nature's intent, I will not use the resulting products in my dishes. This includes any animal product - meat, eggs, dairy products, etc. I research each farm / brand before I use their products, and if I am not comfortable with the transparency of their practices, then I will not use the products in my cooking and you will not see them on your eighpointfive sponsored meal table!

When not sourcing from local, reputable farms, I am also thorough and thoughtful about my non-animal based sourcing (produce, grains, nuts, oils, etc.), taking into consideration and avoiding food products that are notoriously high pesticide, GMO, and/or produced with unsustainable or inhumane labor practices.

I am knowledgeable in food safety, including being ServSafe certified.

Food is my language and way of sharing joy. I look forward to serving you and our High Country community.