According to Wikipedia, Mollenkamp received a B.S. in hospitality management from Cornell University. Following this, she worked as a hotel and restaurant consultant at Ernst & Young, then moved to Europe, living between Florence, Italy and Paris, France for two years. She attended culinary school and received a Grand Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris in 2004. In 2005 she became a founding editor for the San Francisco based Chow.com.
As far as her culture, mom is Italian American and stepmom French. She credits both women as the sources of culinary influence.
