520-314-9763      |      karencooks@hotmail.com

• Executive Chef at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
• Pastry Chef at La Cocina Restaurant & Cantina
• Dining Services Director at Brookdale & Grace Management Senior Communities
• Chef/Owner of the What’s Cookin’ restaurant in Somerville, MA
• Studied and degreed at New England Culinary Institute
• Certified Notary Public of AZ
  Mobile Services Available

I began my career by waiting on tables for six years prior to getting my first kitchen job. Baking desserts was my first

experience. It was a gift from above and I've never looked back!

I decided that this was the life-long career for me so I acquired a culinary degree from New England Culinary Institute and have cooked/baked professionally for over 30 years. Prior to branching out on my own, I was the executive chef at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.

The Boston Globe, October 2002 raves:

HIT OF THE WEEK by Denise Taylor – “I found the best pear tart I’ve had this side of the Atlantic at an unlikely spot. Near Davis Square in Somerville, in a strip of stores on the lip of a traffic circle, sits a tiny new take-out called What’s Cookin’. Chef-owner Karen Citino serves wonderful home style meals. She’s the former pastry chef for Stellina’s and Sweet Endings, and it shows.”

The Boston Phoenix, February 2002 acclaims:

FINE DINING MEETS HEAT ‘n’ EAT by Liza Weisstuch –
    “The owner/chef (Karen Citino) opened her cozy nook in October, fusing her experience as a cook at Olives and manager at the Blue Diner.”

    “When you enter What’s Cookin’, it’s unclear whether its warmth comes from the stoves and ovens or from some fiery hearth hidden off the kitchen. Get even warmer by starting off with one of the soups. Selections rotate, but you’re guaranteed to find timeless classics like pasta fagioli or New England clam chowder. In the display case of prepared food, choices range from zingy balsamic beets to satisfying slick butternut squash. And no selection of side dishes is complete without lusciously lumpy mashed potatoes, the perfect match to comfort food’s chart-topper, meat loaf.”

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