Hey there! Emma grew up as a military brat, living in Missouri, England, then Germany, and had the opportunity to travel across Europe during the now 15 years her family has lived there. Her father served in the Air Force for 24 years, retiring as a First Sergeant the same year Emma graduated high school. Meanwhile, her mother, a freelance photographer turned UX designer, nurtured a deep passion for cooking and baking. 

Food has always been a central part of Emma’s family. Her mother makes cooking and baking a daily ritual, with special dishes from her father emerging around the holidays and weekends. From her mother, Emma enjoys lamb vindaloo, pho, wonton soup, and the best Yorkshire puddings. And Southern-style biscuits and gravy, goetta, crab cakes, and banana bread are staples from her father. Growing up in a household focused on ingredients, Emma developed the creativity to make a meal from whatever was available.

At age 11, her first solo recipe was Jamie Oliver’s Cracking Burger from his Ministry of Food cookbook. During her freshman year at IU, Emma longed for home-cooked meals and quickly tired of dining hall food, so she improvised with her roommate’s rice cooker and minimal ingredients to recreate the flavors of home. Now, living in an apartment with a full kitchen, Emma meal preps, bakes bagels weekly for her roommates, and contributes to church potlucks.

(And to break the third person for a moment) I love cooking, I love food, and, much to my amusement, I’m becoming my parents when I say, “There’s food at home.”