I’m a 2-year veteran bread baker at Gjusta Bakery in Venice, where I learned everything under Chef Travis Lett. I’m 19 years old, and I'm passionate about naturally-fermentated bread. I graduated from the Hamilton High School Music Academy in 2018. I was a jazz drummer, and I'm still very much interested in music. I'm also a pilot and consider myself an aviation enthusiast. I currently fly out of Santa Monica Airport, close to my home in Venice. I've loved aviation since I was super young. My ultimate goal is to buy my own plane one day and fly around the world.

                  People ask me why I like bread, and a few ideas come to mind. I've fallen in love with the process of making naturally-fermentated sourdough bread. The long, meditative process. I find great beauty in the final product, as well as the simplicity of just flour, water, and salt. Throughout the course of the slow 16-hour fermentation, then baking in a 500 degree oven for 1 hour, the simplicity of the 3 ingredients transcends into something so much more complex. Something that you can feel in all your senses at the same time. From the aromas from the extended fermentation and the freshness of the grain, to the feel of the crust, and the texture of the crumb. It's all magical.

                  I also love working hard and have learned to embrace that feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day like I felt at Gjusta. I love waking up super early before anybody else and getting to the grind. It's quiet, and peaceful. Also getting a sweat on first thing in the morning feels good.

                  Another appeal towards being a bread baker is the creativity in baking with ancient and whole grains. I’m fortunate to have access to grains humans have been baking with for thousands of years. From Einkorn to Buckwheat, to Emmer and Kamut there are endless flavor possibilities.

                  I have baking aspirations of studying under some of the bakers that are the most inspiring to me, such as Michael Schulze of "Bäckerei Pfiefle" in Freiburg, Germany, Richard Hart of "Hart Bageri," or Lars Batting of "Batting Bakery," both in Copenhagen, Denmark.