About Rochelle
I’d like to think I bring a unique perspective and knowledge of food to the table: after spending years battling eating disorders, the ultimate unhealthful stance on eating, I took a great interest in turning my attitude around – and what a change that turned out to be.
Fast forward years later: I am a classically trained chef with a communications degree from Le Moyne College and a grand diplome from the French Culinary Institute. I have worked as a catering chef in the famed Time Warner Center, and a cook in the New York Times and Michelin-starred restaurant Aldea, owned by Top Chef Masters competitor George Mendes. I have cooked for the likes of Harold Dieterle, the winner of Top Chef’s Season One and Jeffrey Steingarten, Iron Chef’s most charming judge. I have cut my fingers and had my arms shut in ovens (on accident, I hope). I have eaten unspeakable things and delicious stuff too.
I’ve worked as both a reporter and columnist for the Syracuse City Eagle, travel writer for Connextions Magazine, photography editor for the Le Moyne Dolphin, and food editor and columnist for Syracuse Magazine.
I currently reside in Syracuse, New York where I write for the Syracuse Post-Standard as a food columnist. My columns and instructional cooking videos are available on syracuse.com.
I write about food, chefs, farmers, artisan food producers and everything in between for the New York Cork Report.
I represent the Finger Lakes as the Finger Lakes Wine & Food Ambassador, where I work to show the world the best and most delicious the terroir has to offer.
Food is important to me. I believe that it should be beautiful, thoughtful and fresh. It’s how I cook, and it’s how I eat.
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My blog is a personal collection of stories and recipes. Its main character (some may even use the word “hero”) is my partner in crime and life, Stu Gallagher. When he’s not washing dishes after my kitchen adventures, he works as a photographer specializing in food, family, landscape and architecture. All photographs on the site are taken by him, unless otherwise noted.