Denise Vivaldo

A seasoned food professional with over 28 years of experience, Denise Vivaldo has catered more than 10,000 parties and has cooked for such guests as George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Prince Charles, Bette Midler, Suzanne Somers, Merv Griffin, Cher, Aaron Spelling, Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Maria Shriver. She began her culinary training at the Ritz Escoffier and La Varenne in Paris, and then graduated Chef de Cuisine from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Denise spent numerous years as a professor at UCLA’s Culinary Program and at her Alma Mater, The California Culinary Academy. In 1988, Denise founded Food Fanatics, a catering, recipe-development, and food-styling firm based in Los Angeles, California. Since that time, she has catered for such events as the Academy Awards Governor’s Ball, Sunset Magazine’s Taste of Sunset, and Hollywood wrap parties. She has also styled food for countless local and nationally syndicated television shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NapaStyle with Michael Chiarello, and Access Hollywood Live with Billy Bush. In 2012, Denise sold the trademark name Food Fanatics. Offering the same services and more, the Denise Vivaldo Group, Inc. was launched. Denise is the author of How to Start a Home-Based Catering Business, which has sold more than 150,000 copies and is in its 6th edition, and How to Start a Home-Based Personal Chef Business. She is also the author of The Food Styling Handbook, Perfect Table Settings, Do It For Less! Parties, Do It For Less! Weddings, The Entertaining Encyclopedia, and Top 100 Step-By-Step Napkin Folds. In addition to books, Denise is a contributing blogger for the Huffington Post as well as her own blog, Denise Vivaldo Blogs. Denise is passionate about passing on what she has learned. She founded the Culinary Entrepreneurship Program and she teaches catering and food styling seminars and workshops across the country and internationally. Denise has been a featured guest on a variety of television networks and shows including Good Day L.A., At Home with Lisa Quinn on Live Well Network, ABC Morning News, the Japanese Drama Channel, The Food Network, Home & Garden Network, TV Guide Channel, SoapNet, Lifetime TV, and TV Land. As a consultant, Denise assists companies to better their products. Clients include The Meyer Corporation, Hamilton Beach, QVC, Hunt-Wesson/ConAgra, Euro Direct, Hy-vee, Capital Brands, Future Kitchen Technologies, Bradshaw International, the Canned Food Alliance, the California Avocado Board, the Hass Avocado Board, The Milk Advisory Board, Disney, and Mann’s Chinese Theater. As a food stylist, Denise’s clients include: The Good Cook, Trader Joe’s, Vertical Sales and Marketing, Fresh & Easy, Bristol Farms, Sharkey’s Restaurants, Rosti Tuscan Kitchens, Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Restaurants, Panda Inn, Foster’s Freeze, Daphne’s Greek Café, Exy Restaurant, Norm’s Restaurants, Cacique USA, Morongo Casino, Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, Tulalip Casino, the California Avocado Board, the Hass Avocado Board, Disney Celebration Center, Beach Bodies, Infantimo, The Magic Bullet, The Food Network, Access Hollywood, Good Day LA, Fox Live, KTLA Morning News, Univision, HD Vision Studios, Fast Lane Productions, Bravo, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Eric Ripert, Nigella Lawson, Curtis Stone, The Two Hot Tamales, Rachel Ray, and Michael Chairallo, to name but a few. Denise has helped many people with their cookbooks, including: Skinny Bitch and Vegan Baking with the Skinny Bitch by Kim Barnouin; Mariel’s Healthy Kitchen by Mariel Hemmingway; The Date Night Cookbook by Meredith Phillips; Somersize Fast and Easy Cookbook, Somersize Desserts, Somersize Chocolate, and Eat, Cheat and Melt the Fat Away, by Suzanne Somers; The Food Mover Cookbook and Steam Away the Pounds! by Richard Simmons; The Calorie Countdown Cookbook by Juan-Carlos Cruz; Eat, Taste, Heal by Dr. Tom Yarema; The 3-Hour Diet Cookbook by Jorge Cruise; and Hey, Mom! I’m Hungry! by Susan Powter. Visit Denise’s websites for more information: DeniseVivaldo.com Culinary consulting services DeniseVivaldoGroup.com Food styling and recipe development services for print, TV and web CulinaryEntrepreneurship.com Food styling classes DeniseVivaldoBlogs.com Behind-the-scenes look at food styling