About

A man with a young girl on his shoulders handing her a tomato in a garden
A man making homemade pizza with his young daughter

As a high school freshman, I started doing the weekly grocery shopping for my family. My first few attempts were a bit off the mark - it turns out that we didn’t really need every variety of Bagel Bites - but I got better at choosing foods to meet my family’s needs. I learned to avoid foods with paragraph-long ingredient lists, shop for produce in season, and to keep everyone’s likes and dislikes in mind.

Soon, I took the next natural step and started cooking dinner for my family on weeknights. There was quite a learning curve with this too. Some infamous meals were prepared, and on more than one occasion the fire alarms were activated, but I found I loved cooking  - and I’ve been hooked ever since. Learning about new ingredients, techniques, traditions, and preparations fascinates me, and the challenge of preparing a dish for the first time or improving and perfecting a familiar recipe is endlessly satisfying.

In my twenties, my passion for cooking collided with my growing passion for physical fitness. I wanted to eat in a way that would support my fitness goals, so I honed cooking techniques to extract the greatest flavor and nutritional value from each ingredient. I learned that not everyone thinks giant spreadsheets of nutritional information are as cool as I do, but most importantly, I learned that “healthy” foods do not have to be boring, bland, or restrictive. There are no inherently “bad” ingredients, and anything can be made to nourish the body, mind, and soul. 

This has been my approach to cooking ever since, especially now that I have my own family. Cooking for another person is inherently a way of caring for them, and I reflect on that every time I prepare food for my daughters. Each dinosaur-shaped pancake is an expression of love. CoZu is a mashup of my daughters’ names, as this business is inspired by them and founded in their honor. So whether I’m cooking for my family or stepping into your home to cook for you and yours, the goal will always be the same: to care for others by feeding them healthy, delicious foods, and to put a bit more love into the world.

-Alex, CoZu Chef and Founder

But enough about me. Tell me about you!