I grew up in Indiana, the middle child of two girls, raised like any other Midwest kid: “Go out and play, come back dirty, and be home before the streetlights come on.” I don’t remember ever wearing shoes! My parents—mostly my mother—stressed the importance of eating dinner together as a family at the table each night. It was always something delicious, except when I saw my father put a beet on my plate. I hated those long nights at the dinner table. “If you take it, you eat it.” It didn’t matter if I took it or not —when Mom saw it on my plate, I sat there until it was gone. My younger sister, Beth, and I always had the honored privilege of doing the dishes. As I look back on my childhood, I vividly recall that the best times were had around really good, family-style food. We had family reunions where everyone would pitch in, and everything was amazing—well, except for that Jello with fruit in it! When my parents had friends over, the food was either grilled, baked, sautéed, or fried, but there was always a spread. Our theme of food, family, and love for others never changed. It instilled in me a strong desire to protect and care for people. After finishing a year of college, I joined the United States Marine Corps. I wasn’t known for my food in the Marines, but I was known for my leadership and my ability to bring people together to accomplish a common goal: protecting and providing for ourselves and others. After the Marines, I returned to my passion for food and decided to attend culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island—hands down, the best culinary school in the country! After graduation, I worked in the Boston, MA, food scene, where true New England fare stood above all else. I had the privilege of working with Chef Kevin Crawley of Coriander Bistro, a modern French cuisine restaurant. I then transitioned to working with Chef Bryan Rayelt of the Franklin Restaurant Group, an award-winning collection of restaurants in Boston. As I strengthened and honed my skills early on, my passion for an intimate approach to food and community began to grow. I proposed to the most kind, passionate, and drop-dead gorgeous woman in the world—and to my shock, she said YES! Meghan became my wife on June 8, 2007. She has supported my every decision and encouraged me to follow my passions—and still does to this day! When we decided to start a family, we knew some tough decisions had to be made. My career and lifestyle in high-end restaurants didn’t quite fit our desire to have children. The world of fine dining offers a huge sense of belonging, but it comes at a price—late hours wrapping up and early hours starting out. I made the difficult decision to leave the beloved Boston restaurant scene because growing my family was most important to me. I knew then that God had a plan for me, and when the time was right, He would put me where I needed to be. I started my private chef business, DL Cuisine, and combined my efforts with the impressively talented Rachel Goldman of D’Lish Intimate Catering in Boston. We put together some of the most amazing weddings, beautiful cocktail parties, community events, baby and bridal showers, large family-style events, and more. With our hard-working teams, we divided and conquered, creating some of the most undeniably memorable events—quickly becoming a highly sought-after duo in the market. I continued working with Rachel, but I also took a Food Service Manager role with a company seeking someone to develop their convenience store food service offerings. That role took me on a journey that taught me a ton, but it wasn’t my passion. I eventually stepped away from food for a short time and worked in a sales role with a laundry chemical company. I performed at a very high level for four years, but I continued doing events off and on to keep my passion cup filled. During this time, my mother was fighting cancer. I had already lost my father many years before, and that was not easy. My mother was—and always will be—my inspiration for bringing people together to do good and meaningful things. She was an ordained minister and always taught me to spread the love of God to everyone I meet. I will keep the stories of my time with her private, but I will say she loved my food and gave me a powerful message from God: food is my way of showing love to others. The laundry industry gave my family of four an opportunity to move back to the Midwest, where it all began for me. We packed up our home in Littleton, MA, and made the trek west. We’ve been in Zionsville, IN, since November 2019 and have fallen back in love with Indiana and its people. My passion for cooking comes from a deep love for bringing people together—one bite at a time. I find the most joy in the kitchen with my wife and two little girls, creating meals that nourish both our bodies and our souls. I have a deep passion for helping people who struggle with meal prep due to physical conditions or simply not having enough time in the day—leading to families and individuals struggling to eat nutritious meals. This is the rebirth of DL Cuisine, with a vision of a community-focused kitchen providing healthy, chef-prepared meals for people of all ages, needs, and economic backgrounds. Additionally, we will offer cooking classes for ages 5+, private intimate events, and build-your-own meals from healthy ingredients. So I say, "Welcome to the family!" Give me a call to discover how we can share our love of food and people together.