Background
Mollenkamp grew up in Southern California and attended Rolling Hills Country Day and Chadwick School in Los Los Angeles
Mollenkamp grew up in Southern California and attended Rolling Hills Country Day and Chadwick School in Los Los Angeles
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, Cornell University School Hotel Administration, Ithaca, New York. Graduate, Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, 2004.
Before she got interested in cooking, she played soccer, tennis, did classical ballet, and other extracurricular activities including music and volunteering. In high school, a skiing accident rendered her temporarily unable to dance and she turned to cooking as a means of expressing herself creatively. Following this, she worked in hospitality real estate consulting at Ernst & Young, then moved to Europe, living between Florence, Italy and Paris, France for two years.
She attended culinary school and received a Grand Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris in 2004.
Over the years, she has worked at several restaurants and hotels in the United States (including Chez Melange, California Pizza Kitchen, and the Hotel Belorussian-Air, in Los Angeles, California). Following her return to the United States. in 2005, Mollenkamp became an editor at the San Francisco, California-based CHOW.com online food magazine.
Food Network and Cooking Channel
Mollenkamp"s first Food Network series, the interactive cooking program Ask Aida, began airing on August 2, 2008 and filmed three seasons. Her second show, FoodCrafters for Food Network’s new sister network, Cooking Channel, debuted May 31, 2010.
In FoodCrafters, she leaves the kitchen to uncover handmade food finds from around the nation.
Keys To The Kitchen Cookbook
Her first cookbook, Keys To The Kitchen: The Essential Reference for Becoming A More Accomplished, Adventurous Cook, was published by Chronicle Books in October 2012. Mollenkamp"s cooking style is influenced by her family"s origins yet it also was shaped by the multi-ethnic nature of Los Angeles, where she grew up. Mollenkamp"s brother, Christophe, was shown on the Dear Food Network Grilling episode titled "Grilling in Paradise." Her sister Ivy serves as her public relations manager.