About

Hi, I'm Paula!

I'm a former pro cook who spent over a decade in real kitchens before turning my attention to the cooking problem that actually matters: Dinner, tonight, without the fuss.

I graduated from the culinary program at Vancouver Community College (VCC) in 2005 and cooked my way through luxury hotel kitchens, high-volume catering companies, tiny cafés, two tree planting camps, and a 92-foot ecotourism sailboat running trips from BC to Alaska. I spent a couple of unforgettable years at a farm shop in rural Scotland. I also trained in holistic nutrition at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition (CSNN) in Vancouver.

Professional kitchens taught me that the best shortcuts aren't about cutting corners, they're about knowing which steps actually matter and which ones you've been doing out of habit (or because the recipe told you to).

How To Make Dinner is mostly geared toward cooking for one or two, who care about eating good food, hate wasting half a bunch of parsley, and don't want weeknight dinners to feel like a production. No guilt about convenience food. No recipes that serve eight. Just real cooking, made smarter.

Featured in Good Morning America, HuffPost, Apartment Therapy, and more.

Let's make dinner!
- Paula

Check out some of my media features below

HowStuffWorks: Is Hummus Really Healthy?

Cook it Real Good Podcast: Make Better Dinners with Less Fuss