Getting to Know Allison Cox

At the tender age of five, Allison Cox was in such awe at her discovery of the delicate beauty and sweet flavor of a tiramisu dessert she cried tears of joy. “The textures, the taste…it just blew me away. I literally knew from that day that I wanted to be involved with foods like that,” the 23-year-old now says.

Today, Allison finds herself creating her own sweet confections and savory dishes as part of her studies at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Her current curriculum has brought Allison to The Food Channel, where she’ll work as a culinary intern for the next few months. She expects to complete her associate degree from the CIA in February, 2009, specializing in baking and pastry.

Born in New Orleans and raised in Ashland, Ky., Allison began her pursuit of a life in food working at a diner at age 14 and then later as a pastry chef at the Commander’s Palace in New Orleans when she returned as a college student at Tulane University. “I made about 200 bread pudding soufflés a day” at the famed Garden District restaurant, Allison says.

Her love of baking, and desserts in particular, was most likely influenced by both of her grandmothers, Allison says. “They entertained a lot, and I could see how much they enjoyed it. I began doing a lot of baking at home, especially around the holidays. All the women in my family cook, although none professionally.”

Allison’s studies at Tulane included a nine-month study-abroad program in the south of France in Aix-en-Provence, where she became fluent in the French language and observed and absorbed the delicious simplicity of French cooking.

Since the end of January, Allison has been honing her culinary craft at The Food Channel, assisting the chefs in the development of recipes, both sweet and savory. She has found special excitement in seeing recipes all the way through from idea inception, to culinary execution, to the writing, editing and photography, and finally seeing them up on the worldwide web via The Food Channel. She’s especially proud of her Boston’s Best Clam Chowder recipe which Allison hopes you’ll try soon and tell us what you think.