Occupation: I’m the executive chef at The Inn at Newtown, and have been there since 2008. I’m in charge of menu planning, hiring, four to six wine dinners each year, as well as the dining rooms. I’m a hands-on chef. I basically dream it up, create it, and teach the staff how to do it. It’s a lot of fun, and very satisfying.

Family: A lot of my immediate family is in Alaska and New Mexico. I have five siblings, three sisters and two brothers. My mother and father live in Silver City, New Mexico.

Pets: I love dogs. Right now I have a Rottweiler/black Lab mix named Bowser. I’ve had him for 16 years. He’s an old man.

How long have you been in Newtown? I live in Sandy Hook. I moved here last year from the New Milford area.

What do you like to do in your free time? I love the outdoors: fishing, boating, camping, barbeques, everything. I’m into music, anything and everything. Music makes the day go by. I play around and experiment with new recipes and new food ideas in my home kitchen. If I read, I read mostly cooking magazines.

Do you have a favorite cookbook author? I like Jamie Oliver, who is a London-based chef, and Michael Chiarello out of the Napa Valley area. Oliver has always been good at letting the food do the talking. He’s inspirational. His books now are about what you can do in your own home, growing your own foods, thinking locally. Chiarello’s books are cut and dried. He takes the ingredients he uses very seriously. It’s fundamental.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? I grew up in Alaska, in the Fairbanks area, and I got a lot of cooking experience all over Alaska, so it has a special spot in my heart. And I love Boston. It’s a small, big city. You can pretty much walk the distance of the city, and it has a lot of cultural diversity.

What is the best thing about Newtown? It’s got to be the people. And the accessibility of everything you could need in the culinary world, from eggs to lamb.

Do you have a hero? My mom. I remember her working two jobs and doing everything in a mother’s capabilities to make things work for us. She has an upbeat personality and always looks on the bright side of things.

Do you have a personal philosophy? Just try to be the best person you can be. Learn from your mistakes.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? The first thing that popped into my head is Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, in any flavor. Food, in general, is my guilty pleasure. I love spoiling myself.