Carissa Seward

After graduating from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and working for a law firm, she got involved in design/engineering and plastic prototyping.   

In 2003, after almost a decade working in a professional high-tech sales job, Carissa decided to pursue her real passion:  FOOD.   In the span of 5 weeks she literally changed everything in her life; sold everything, packed her bags and moved to Paris, France (without knowing a word of French).  Here, in the culinary epicenter of the world is where she attended the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute.  After graduating with a degree in both French cuisine and French Pâtisserie (pastry), she honed her culinary skills under the tutelage of some of Paris’s premier chefs and patissieres, including Jean-Louis Nomicos at Lasserre, Laurent Duchene and Pierre Hermé.   Through living and experiencing all parts of Europe and most notably France and its food, it infectiously forever became a part of her soul. 

In 2005 she returned to San Diego to pursue her dreams and promptly submitted a videotape and application to The Food Network to become “The Next Food Network Star”.  She was selected as 1 of 8 finalists out of 10,000+ applicants for the talent search/reality show.  Currently pursuing any and all potentially great culinary opportunities, she believes French cooking and cooking in general can be simpler than some perceive it to be and wants to teach people how to create simply scrumptious cuisine and bring a dash of fun into every kitchen throughout the world.  By understanding, mastering and utilizing traditional French culinary techniques, Carissa is able to apply this in the making of any world cuisine.  Quite simply put, Carissa adores cooking, experimenting and of course…eating all types of food and most importantly, sharing it with friends and family…the ultimate experience! 

Always on the hunt for new and interesting things, Carissa currently teaches culinary classes both locally and around the country, travels the country promoting a new line of healthy cookware, is in the process of writing her own cookbook and continues to pursue her ultimate dream of hosting her own television cooking show.