Cheesecake

Chef MELANIE UNDERWOOD developed her enthusiasm for fresh and organic food as a child on her family's farm in Virginia, where she began cooking at age four. She apprenticed with noted pastry chef Jill Light at a hotel in Washington, D.C., before moving to New York, where she demonstrated her talent for baking and desserts at the Four Seasons Hotel, the Plaza Hotel, Torre di Pisa, and other celebrated New York City restaurants. Since 1996 Underwood has been sharing her expertise as a cooking and baking instructor for professional and recreational programs at the Institute for Culinary Education (ice.edu), has taught private cooking classes at Home Cooking New York in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood (homecookingny.com), and is frequently invited to teach throughout the country. Underwood also tests and develops recipes for many corporate clients, including Dairy Management, Diageo, Folgers Coffee, Kraft Foods, Sara Lee, Splenda, Ziploc, and other high-profile brands. She has demonstrated her skills on several TV networks, including NBC ("The Today Show"), ABC ("Live with Regis and Kelly"), CNN, Food Network, and Oxygen, and has been featured in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, New York magazine, Fine Cooking magazine, and other publications. Underwood is also a co-author of the self-published book Art and Cook, a unique blend of recipes, art, and politics.