Lauren's obsession with food began at 17 at a table in Bordeaux, France where wine, cheese, cepes, and pate de fois gras abounded. But it was under the tutelage of Damien DiPaola, at Carmelina's in Hadley, MA, where she experienced the true restaurant lifestyle. Here she grew from server, to manager, to pastry chef as she completed her degrees in Culinary Journalism from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Pastry Arts from The French Culinary Institute in New York City.
