Bridgeport, Connecticut based chef, Chef Dana sparked my interest on Instagram with her consistency of posting delicious looking food photos. Getting to know the personality behind Chef Dana Cooks was a must. Especially with her hip-hop lines along the way.

“I’m a single mother of one wonderful 16 year old daughter named Jada. Family is what sparked my interest in cooking,” Chef Dana said. “I come from an Italian family whose love for food and food traditions stems from way back when I was a kid..lots of great cooks in my family,but there was one in particular I was very close to..that was my late great Aunt Liz.For years before she passed,she taught me the Italian basics as far as cooking goes and I took it from there..creating new dishes aside from the traditional Italian dishes and artistically plating them became a passion that has grown over the years.”

Like myself, Chef Dana refers to herself as a home cook. She believes that one does not need to be a culinary school certified to know how to cook.

“Many famous cooks such as Rachael Ray on television who also inspire me and haven’t spent a day in culinary training and have made good for themselves. Well that’s my goal here,” says Chef Dana.

Chef Dana stated that she love the WOW factor she gets from her audience on social media, love the interaction ,taking pictures of food, incorporating her love for hip hop as well over videos of her cooking on Instagram, the questions, and sharing recipes. She calls it therapeutic and states that she love to inspire.

I used to upload to my YouTube channel EVERY WEEK until last October when my younger sister and only sibling passed suddenly in her sleep which really put a halt to things..do I plan on coming back to YouTube?..absolutely,it’s what I love to do,and what she’d want me to continue to do,she was one of my biggest fans.

Chef Dana has been on a few online food challenges, worked along side of the YouTube famous food reviewer, Daym Drops. She is currently a chef on his team, #TeamDaym. She has auditioned and interviewed twice to be a contestant on two different Food Network shows and still continue to do so.

Be sure to folle Chef Dana on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.