Meet the Chef
Sarah Stix
Sarah Stix, New York native and a graduate of NYC's Institute of Culinary Education, began her culinary career at birth. Born into an Italian family where everything revolved around meals, Sarah has enjoyed a life-long love of cooking and baking. It wasn't until she was in her late twenties, however, that Sarah realized her true calling was in the restaurant business.
Education
Sarah began her education at Prescott College, an independent liberal arts college in Arizona. Here she studied organic farming techniques while learning to cook southwestern dishes with the fresh vegetables grown locally on the farm. This experience gave her a deeper understanding of the connection between how our food is grown and livestock raised and what is served on the table.
After working in a variety of restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and prepared food shops, Sarah enrolled in the esteemed Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, where she studied Culinary Arts and Culinary Management. Upon graduating with highest honors, she went to work for a well known cookbook author, baking wedding, special occasion cakes and pastries in the author's bakery, as well as tasting recipes for inclusion in her cookbook.
Personal Chef
Soon Sarah was working as a personal chef for a familiar TV talk show host and her husband. After some time working as a personal chef, Sarah joined a top NYC catering company, cooking for events ranging from small intimate gatherings to large parties of more than 200 people.
New Hampshire Catering
In the spring of 2006, Sarah relocated to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she had previously lived, and started Willow Tree Foods catering and event planning.
Today, Sarah delights in creating sophisticated comfort cuisine for catering clients in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, taking traditional familiar recipes and making them more sophisticated and elegant by adding creativity and high quality ingredients. In addition, Chef Stix offers cooking classes and parties for adults and kids alike.
Sarah is a graduate of Prescott College and The Institute of Culinary Education (formerly Peter Kump’s) in New York City.