Cherie Mercer Twohy is the "Cherie" behind Chez Cherie. A lifelong love of cooking spurred Cherie to culinary school when her three children reached school-age, where she received her Professional Culinary Arts diploma from the California School of Culinary Arts. In addition to her formal chef's training, her passion for travel and interest in culinary tradition have taken her around the world. Closer to home, she has received instruction at the renowned Culinary Institute of America Greystone campus in the Napa Valley.
While a Chef Instructor at HomeChef Pasadena, Cherie honed her skills as an entertaining communicator, whose relaxed and humorous attitudes toward food demystify the cooking process. She opened Chez Cherie in 2000, where she encourages her students to "touch the food" and to relax with cooking as therapy. In addition to teaching cooking classes, Cherie develops hands-on culinary team building programs, provides culinary consulting services for corporate clients in Southern California, and leads groups on international culinary travel excursions.
Cherie is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and recently joined Julia Child and Jacques Pepin as a Certified Culinary Professional, one of only 300 culinarians worldwide to achieve that designation. She is also a proud member of the American Institute of Food and Wine, and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.
Cherie was recently selected by Saveur Magazine to present the Saveur Cooks cooking classes for food lovers in Southern California. She can be seen as a recurring Guest Chef on Home & Garden Television. Her first book, The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook, was released in October, 2009.
