About - Craving California

Welcome to Craving California! I’m Leigh, a formally trained private chef living in Los Angeles. I created this food blog to share all my favorite recipes and culinary tips and tricks I’ve learned working for over ten years in the food industry.

a photo of chef Leigh Anderson holding her dog Theo

I’ve been obsessed with cooking (and eating!) since I was really young. I grew up making Kraft mac and cheese, and every recipe on the side of the Bisquick box. My brothers and I loved to play restaurant, and I proudly made dinner for my family a few nights a week. I knew early on that I was going to be a chef.

After high school, I moved to Los Angeles to attend Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute, where I received my formal culinary training. I then spent the next few years working as a line cook in some of LA’s best restaurants: Michael Voltaggio’s Ink. and, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro. Since then I have been working as a private chef creating healthy dinners for a few wonderful families.

The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking, you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.
― Julia Child

I love this city so much. Los Angeles is teeming with culinary inspiration from the farmer’s markets and restaurants to the street side taco trucks. All of this experience has led to the creation of this blog where I’m sharing my tips and tricks to make cooking easy and enjoyable. There’s no greater way to express your love for your friends and family than by getting in the kitchen and preparing them a meal.

Craving California has been featured in Buzzfeed, Yummly, FoodGawker, BobbyBerk.com, Food52, Reader’s Digest, TheFeedFeed, Woman’s Day, and many more!

Fun Facts About Leigh

My all-time favorite food is a toasted everything bagel with smoked salmon, cream cheese, tomato, and capers. You can’t beat it!
When I was little I learned a lot about cooking from watching cooking shows on PBS. My favorite shows were Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home and Americas Test Kitchen.
While I’ve called California home for over 12 years, I actually grew up in Annapolis, Maryland. I still love visiting Annapolis, especially in the summertime during crab season, yum!