Rachel first fell in love with cooking while working at a small restaurant on the coast of Virginia, where she’s from. It was there that she discovered the sensory impact of terroir, since the restaurant sourced ingredients from nearby farms and local fishermen. She also discovered a love for butchering and charcuterie, which quickly propelled her to move to Boston to pursue an entry level butchering job at Lionetti’s in the South End. Over the next 12 years, Rachel studied and cooked every day working her way up in some of the best kitchens in Boston, most notably as Chef de Cuisine at Clio, Ken Oringer’s flagship restaurant. Prior to Clio, she was named one of Zagat’s 30 Under 30: Boston’s Hottest Up and Comers, as Executive Sous Chef at Bondir.

Once Rachel ran out of opportunities operating other chef’s kitchens she decided to move forward and open her own restaurant. For over 2.5 years she worked as a private chef and booked Nightshade Pop Up dinners in and around Boston and the North Shore, learning and growing into her own style. In October of 2019 she opened her first baby, Nightshade Noodle Bar in downtown Lynn, MA where she lives and can be found cooking on the line every night. Follow Rachel for a glimpse from behind the scenes of the Nightshade Noodle Bar kitchen and her next project, Sin City Superette, next door.