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ABOUT
ANNA
Anna's passion for cooking began at a very early age. As soon as she could stand on a chair to be kitchen counter height, her Grandmother was teaching her the basics.
Cooking for her family gave her great joy, and soon she was reading cookbooks as though they were novels, picking up every bit of information and new ideas. An accomplished cook at 17, she apprenticed with Chef Steve Stoyano at Reno's Little Italy in her hometown of Reno, Nevada. After college, she began her catering career, which took her to Washington State, Utah, Texas, and Nevada. In
1991 she moved to Durango, Colorado, and opened her first restaurant, at Purgatory Ski Resort, where she was also the Food and Beverage Director for the summer season for the mountain restaurants. Five years, and many weddings,
concert dinners, corporate retreats, and family re-unions later, the opportunity to own her own restaurant presented itself.
She bought a restaurant in the quaint town of Dolores,
Colorado, just 45 minutes from Durango. There, she did a complete over-haul of the outdated building, and created an upscale menu of new and innovative offerings to entertain and thrill her ever-increasing
clientele. She named the restaurant, The Naked Moose (do check out the video that tells you about the inception of the name!) In
1998, she met and married husband, Tim, who expanded the
building to include a huge bar and deck.
In 2000, they made their first trip to Nicaragua, and fell in love with the country, and the people. With plans to retire here one day, they bought the land that would one day be, Villa Laguna.
In 2005, the restaurant was sold, and Tim and Anna decided to move everything to San Juan Del Sur, and start building their dream home on their lot in Los
Miradores. With the house, guest house completed, and the vision complete, Anna,( who can not stay out of the kitchen), decided to open her cooking school and catering. She does once-a-month classes using local ingredients with a Northern American twist.
Tim, who is a professional musician, will be working with the local high school marching band, and is forming a
rhythm & blues band. Between the two of them, they have four children, and eight Grandchildren to visit them at Villa Laguna.
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