Chef Amelia is a local girl, born and raised in Pacific, Missouri. Amelia's parents owned Hoffman's Drive-In, a popular ice cream and hamburger shop in Pacific that her brother still operates today. Amelia grew up sitting on the freezer while waitresses helped her with homework and taught her to tie her shoes. She married her high school sweetheart Rick, a former Navy pilot. In their travels, they have lived in places across the United States and Europe. Amelia earned her degree in Culinary Arts and Management while stateside.

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Her many travels have greatly influenced her food styles. While stationed in Southern Spain, she traveled to many European locations including London, Paris, Sweden, Germany, and Portugal. Stateside, she has lived in areas known for great local ingredients and food - Florida, Memphis, Mississippi, the Pacific Northwest, and Southern California. While in California, Amelia pursued another passion of hers, wine. Visits to Napa and Sonoma, along with access to some of the best produce, opened her eyes to fresh, flavorful ingredients, often pairing them in new and unusal ways. In the Southern states, Amelia adopted some Southern charm into her cooking style, influencing many of her dishes today. Her trademark is using simple foods, prepared in remarkable ways, & utilizing farm to table ingredients, whenever possible.