About Me
Foraging backyard ramps with my grandmother.
The Early Years
One of the driving forces in my life has always been food, whether making meals in the kitchen or growing food in the garden or the lab. I owe my love of all things food related to my wonderful family, and in particular to my grandmother, who's extensive garden and culinary skill impressed upon me just how powerful making your own food can be.
I grew up helping my mother and my grandmother in the garden, and before long graduated to propagating hostas for sale from our driveway. Later I would get some real farm experience working at Arcadian Fields Farm in Hope Valley, RI, where I was paid in produce, mostly in possibly the best tomatoes I have ever had. When I started working summers in high school, I was lucky enough to be able to work as a prep cook at Chez Pascal in Providence RI, learning the ins and outs at a French Bistro that put an emphasis on local produce. I worked at Chez all through college, eventually earning a degree in English Literature from The George Washington University.
A Career in Indoor Growing
After college, I bounced around a couple of restaurant jobs before ending up in New York City. Out of a desire to continue to make things grow in the immense concrete jungle that is New York, I applied for a job with Farm.One, a Manhattan based start-up growing herbs and edible flowers for Michelin stared restaurants. At Farm.One, I got a crash course in hydroponics, and I had a chance to learn about growing the hundreds of unusual culinary herbs that they were growing. I learned quickly and by the time I left the company three years later, I was running their R&D program and managing one of their two farms, as well as teaching twice weekly classes on Hydroponics.
The grow room at Farm.One
The Institute of Culinary Education
After Farm.One, I launched a one man consulting/contracting business focused on indoor agriculture. From just one initial client, helping Teens for Food Justice manage and upgrade some of their farms in NYC schools, the business grew until I was assisting half a dozen clients at once, on everything from farm design to growing processes. Also during this time, I took on managing responsibilities for the hydroponic Garden at the Institute of Culinary Education in lower Manhattan.
I continued to work for these clients both before, during, and after COVID-19 induced lockdown, though I did take a short hiatus, holing up in my parents home in rural Vermont during the worst of the pandemic. Even during this time I couldn't stay away from growing things, and I completely revamped the family garden plot, building new raised beds and terraced plots. While in Vermont, I also remotely ran and expanded Farm.One's classes, teaching a course on the basics of Hydroponics.
Raised beds in Vermont
The lab at Allwell Greens
After returning to NYC, I began consulting with John and Judy Cari of Allwell Greens on a regular basis, until eventually they became my biggest client. When they decided to take their company to the next level, I signed on as their Head of Growing Operations. I am responsible for all aspects of the growing process at Allwell, and oversee everything from R&D, to system design, to operations and farm management. Currently, we operate from a small test facility, but we will be moving into a 5,000 square foot production facility in early 2023.