Natasha's passion for vanilla started at a young age. A former professional ballerina, her first memories of vanilla started on her way to ballet classes when her mother 'spritzed' her with vanilla-scented cologne. The vanilla seed was planted. Many years and hundreds of pointe shoes later, she always kept a tiny bottle of vanilla perfume on her theatre dressing table as a reminder of the decades of dedication, the joy of dancing and the enticing aroma of vanilla. A few years ago Natasha MacAller experienced vanilla up-close at the First International Vanilla Food & Wine Event at Heilala's vanilla plantation in Tonga. Natasha, along with Peter Gordon, created, cooked and served an array of vanilla dishes over three days. It was here that Vanilla Table began to take shape.

Author Biography

Natasha MacAller's international culinary credits include teaching at Leith's School of Food and Wine, and Divertimenti in London, consulting for restaurants in New Zealand and the USA, and advising and coordinating food and wine events around the world. She is based in London, Los Angeles and New Zealand. In the US, Natasha opened three restaurants, ran the pastry kitchens and consulted for several restaurants in Los Angeles, and ran Napa Valley's Chateau Montelena restaurant in Montana. She has been published in Food & Wine, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, LA Times Magazine and in Best of Food & Wine Cookbook. She trained in the pastry kitchens of Charlie Trotter's, and under Sherry Yard at the original Spago Hollywood.