10 years ago, Rina was just a food-obsessed, cookbook-hoarder working in corporate sales and living the Army wife dream; following her physician husband to the ends of the earth and beyond. In the midst of yet another move, She was presented with an amazing opportunity to fulfill one of her life's dreams - to go to culinary school. She found herself in one of the most exciting places to eat in America practically overnight. At Tante Marie's Cooking School in the heart of San Francisco, She learned the fundamentals of French cuisine and ate her way through the local food scene. Classic mother sauces and soufflés by day, San Francisco foodie hotspots by night. She was in heaven! Just a few months after graduation, her and her husband moved to Germany, and for the next 3 1/2 years, they ate their way through almost every country in Europe. She met chefs, winemakers, cheesemakers, and all sorts of farmers, and it was at the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris that she fell in love with fresh, local, seasonal, market cuisine. Through these experiences, she was inspired to write her first cookbook. When she ditched the gluten and grains to lose the 25 pounds she gained in culinary school, she spent the next 10 years revamping her culinary point of view and mastering the art of healthy home cooking. 10 years ago, Rina was just a food-obsessed, cookbook-hoarder working in corporate sales and living the Army wife dream; following her physician husband to the ends of the earth and beyond. In the midst of yet another move, she was presented with an amazing opportunity to fulfill one of her life's dreams - to go to culinary school. She found herself in one of the most exciting places to eat in America practically overnight. At Tante Marie's Cooking School in the heart of San Francisco, she learned the fundamentals of French cuisine and ate her way through the local food scene. Classic mother sauces and soufflés by day, San Francisco foodie hotspots by night. She was in heaven! Just a few months after graduation, her and her husband moved to Germany, and for the next 3 1/2 years, they ate their way through almost every country in Europe. She met chefs, winemakers, cheesemakers, and all sorts of farmers, and it was at the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris that she fell in love with fresh, local, seasonal, market cuisine. Through these experiences, she was inspired to write her first cookbook. When she ditched the gluten and grains to lose the 25 pounds she gained in culinary school, she not only lost weight, but her and her husband achieved a level of health they never had before. Her painful, chronic, cystic acne disappeared and Dave's seemingly incurable acid reflux and eczema vanished. They looked and felt better than ever and it was then that she decided to revamp her culinary point of view and master the art of healthy home cooking. She has taken cooking classes all over the world including Italy, France, Spain, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. While once a private chef, she is most passionate about teaching people how to transform fresh, quality ingredients into simple, healthy, delicious food. She currently lives in Honolulu, Hawaii with her husband David and their two little girls, Sophia and Elena. She loves to eat, but not nearly as much as she loves them.
