Laurine started cooking at the age of 6, and knew that she wanted to be a chef by the time she was 12. At 17 she was virtually running a restaurant, which led her to attending the prestigious Culinary Institute of America.

Laurine’s career has been a continuous learning process. As chef at a guest ranch in Colorado she learned how to forge relationships with local suppliers of fresh vegetables, fish, and meat. An apprenticeship at Ernie’s provided grounding in classical French restaurant cooking. Experience as sous-chef for Lance Velasquez taught her refinement as a cook, how to choreograph a busy kitchen, and to look at the business as a whole. Working with Craig Stoll at Palio d’Asti and Delfina exposed her to the Mediterranean and Italian traditions that inform her cuisine today.

Laurine’s catering career began with preparing elegant dinners in the homes of leading Silicon Valley executives. Her clients required no menu; Laurine would prepare the dinner from the freshest and finest ingredients she could find that morning.

As her reputation grew, so did requests to cater larger parties such as weddings. Laurine took the plunge to start a full-time catering business in 1995.