Gina is a chef, stylist, and photographer. Welcome to her kitchen, where you will find her take on savory and sweet dishes that will fit any mood or palate. Food should always look delicious and taste even better.
Cooking, which started as a hobby and a means for Gina to decompress after a long day working as an attorney, has turned into a passion and second career. After nearly 15 years, she took a step back from her around-the-clock law firm lifestyle to devote more time to refining her culinary skills, developing recipes, and learning and absorbing as much as she could about this craft.
Although she's spent hundreds of hours in the kitchen as a self-taught cook, Gina enrolled in a 100-hour intensive French culinary techniques course at the International Culinary Center in New York City. She loved waking up each morning knowing that she'd be spending the day in the kitchen learning new skills and building upon those just learned. She mastered how to quickly slice an onion, mince a shallot, and julienne a carrot with precision. She filleted her first fish and meticulously worked through the delicate steps required to make choux and puff pastry. She prepared eggs five different ways and potatoes eight. She practiced plating and presentation each dish. 100 hours felt like 10 and she left the ICC with a yearning for more. After briefly working as a prep cook at a restaurant, she landed at her dream job at America's Test Kitchen as a test cook and food stylist.
For Gina, cooking is an art, a science, and an creative outlet to express her true self. It starts with a list of ingredients that once chopped, combined, seasoned, heated, or chilled with thought, patience, and attention, magically transform into a beautiful, finished masterpiece.
Cooking also creates and maintains community. Growing up in an Italian household, Gina has everlasting memories of being in the kitchen on a stool next to her grandmother helping to stir the marinara sauce, mix and shape the meatballs, and make the garlic bread. A little of this and a pinch of that, all without a single written recipe. She remembers the sheer delight of sitting down to a long table filled with people and more food than anyone could ever eat. Today, Gina can't think of anything more satisfying than enjoying a meal she's created in her kitchen or more special than sitting down to a table full of people waiting to take their first bite.
Gina's savory and sweet portfolio consists only of the dishes she's prepared in her kitchen (typically after digesting dozens of recipes for inspiration). She styled, composed, lit, and shot every photograph. Her editorial portfolio showcases the styling she's done America's Test Kitchen in collaboration with incredibly talented photographers.
Follow along as she shares photographs, recipes, and the tidbits she has learned along the way.
Buon Appetito.