I'm Shaylan: personal chef, entrepreneur, aspiring sommelier, educator, food nerd, and mad scientist of flavor. 

I grew up in rural Indiana, and the produce from our gardens and the food we ate still contribute to my palate and culinary philosophy today. I found my way to a career in food and wine along a path that led me through photography, graphic design, marketing, and event planning. I began sharing my creations more broadly in 2008. Since then, I've been cooking, blogging, publishing recipes, expanding my palate, and learning as much as possible. 

I am a graduate of the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education in Grand Rapids, Mich. After moving east in 2022, I opened The Untamed Palate, a personal chef service focusing on private, in-home food and wine experiences in and around Boston, Mass. In Dec. 2022, I completed the WSET 3 advanced certification in wine from Commonwealth Wine School in Cambridge, Mass. and passed the exam with distinction.

I am passionate about food and wine. Sharing that enthusiasm with my clients and guests is why I get out of bed every morning. I believe creating experiences around food offers us all adventure, humility, and community. I am always learning, always exploring, always tasting, and always experimenting.

Every plate (and every bottle)
​is a ​new journey.

If the destination is deliciousness, then building unique flavor profiles is my vehicle of choice. Flavor is instinctual to me, but I always do my homework with respect to ingredients, technique, and culture. Somewhere in the middle — where those aspects overlap — is where I thrive.

I approach tasting wine from a similar hybrid perspective — a bit of prose and a bit of poetry. Drawing from both my training and sense-memory, I dig deep into aroma and flavor to evaluate technically, then creatively.