Sharon Matten

I grew in up in a Traditional Jewish home. My grandmother lived with us, and I learned about cooking from her. Both my parents cooked, and I was in the kitchen as a "sous chef" from a young age. While I may have started my professional life as an Electrical Engineer, the work lacked the creativity I craved. Now I cook for everyone, professionally as well as for family, friends & Shabbat guests (a.k.a. guinea pigs). I take traditional & make it traditional with a twist!

The truth is that I'm always looking to create something new out of the ordinary. However I always go back to traditional foods like Chicken Soup. My ancestors used to make it on the stovetop and let it cook for hours to achieve the proper richness. I literally wrote the book on making the best chicken soup in a pressure cooker, saving time but not quality. Updating the matzoh balls to be meat filled matzoh balls was one way to twist the traditional. I always seem to go back to my roots.

Our family is very committed to charitable causes. While some of the money might go towards updating my business, the rest would definitely go towards some food related charity. Whether helping to create a nutrition/culinary program in one of the local schools or helping the local Jewish food pantries, it would make sense for me. We cook for the needy and sick already, this would help our family to give charity on a larger scale. It's giving back to our community in a way that speaks to us.