Tamara Shenkle

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A little about me

I grew up in the suburban bushland of Sydney Australia where I started preparing the dinner meals for my family when mum returned to the work force full time.  It was VERY basic at first because my palate was limited to meat and cheese…. salad was a piece of ice burg lettuce. I was a very fussy eater. (I still LOVE meat and cheese!)

I’ve always been a creative person with my first dream as a card maker, then dancer (which I was till I was 16) and actress (which I did for 20 years) – the passion for food really started to grow as a teenager and my love for creative endeavors never wained. 

I moved to NYC when I was 19 to pursue acting. Around 15 years in, good friend with whom I ran a theater company (Hair of the Dog NYC) knew my love of cooking – and having worked in the restaurant business in Manhattan since my arrival – asked me to cater an event for a VP of a large media company here in the city. As a theater producer for over 10 years, the wearing of many hats naturally evolved into running a catering business. 

I was immediately hooked after running my first event – and from there a tenacious pursuit to create the most delicious, fresh and visually pleasing hors d’oeuvres (coupled by healthy appetite for the Food Network) was born. The iceberg gave way to farm fresh edibles and the meat and 3 veg dinners have been given a major overhaul!
 
Why focus on Hors D’oeuvres? I love to try EVERYTHING!… my patient husband and friends have learned to live with my fork entering the ‘air space’ over their chosen entree, because I like to try “all the yummy things!”. 

Growing up in Australia where we geographically so far from the rest of the world, we pull from a huge variety of flavors and preparations. My love for creating new delicious bites and re-creating old classics from the global influence continues to inspire me.