About the authors



Authors of Country Comfort: Cooking Across America

Chef Nicole Roarke is an honors graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, NY While earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at SUNY Stony Brook, Chef Nicole began her career in restaurants in 1997. She succeeded at mastering many "front of the house" positions such as Captain, Expeditor and Banquet Manager before venturing into the kitchen. Chef Nicole honed her cooking skills in many restaurants including the Bon Appetite favorite The Linkery and the glamorous Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, CA, the impressive Trattoria Aroma in Buffalo, NY and Jean Georges’ Spice Market in NYC. Chef Nicole acquired experience in executing show-stopping events such as the 2005 Chaine de la Rotisseur and the 2006 Taste of St. Augustine, while working for the Hilton Hotel historic bay front in St. Augustine, Florida, and as the exclusive caterer of the Frank Lloyd Wright Davidson House in Buffalo, NY. Her nationwide work experience fuses various regional and cultural influences from Mexican, Southern, Italian, Asian and classic French. Most recently, Nicole was the proud Executive Chef of Sugo Cafe in Long Beach as well as private Chef Instructor for "A la Carte" in Lynbrook, NY. In 2010, Nicole officially established NR Catering, specializing in off-premise catering as well as private chef occasions. Some of Chef Nicole's recipes have been published in Hatherleigh Press/Random House's Country Comfort Cookbooks , published 2010 and 2011 "Chef's Tips" section. In 2010, Chef Nicole joined the elite team of Chef Instructors at the Culinary Academy  in Syosset, where she continues to exude her passion for cooking as well as her love to teach! In May 2013 she will be staring up a new restaurant, J. A. Hennegan's, in Point Lookout as the Executive Chef.
Her philosophy: Cooking with your senses and your food will come alive!   

Mary Elizabeth Roarke has her B. S. in nursing and has worked in the field for over thirty years. In 2008, she went to culinary school and earned a certificate in Pastry and Baking Arts. She now works in clinical research with a major pharmaceutical company. On weekends, she bakes alongside her daughter Nicole in their business, NR Catering, on Long Island, where she lives with her husband and their four children.
Mary Elizabeth has written a chapter for a book titled, Potluck Wisdom for the Pharmaceutical Professional. While at work, she started an e-mail recipe exchange called “Food for Thought,” where she featured a weekly recipe received from colleagues all over the United States. These experiences  sparked her interest in writing, and she went on to combine her love of baking and sharing recipes in the cookbook series, Country Comfort: HarvestHolidays, Slow-Cooker Favorites,  Summer Favorites (co-authored with Monica Musetti-Carlin) and Cooking Across America (co-authored with her daughter)
Since 2007, she has volunteered as a Board Member for BULA (Better Understanding of Life in Africa). Both for BULA and her full-time job, Mary Elizabeth collected and collated recipes two charity cookbooks.
Her philosophy: Sharing recipes creates lasting memories!

Other cookbooks in the Country Comfort series:
Mary Elizabeth co-authored, with Monica Musetti-Carlin,  Harvest, Holiday, Slow-Cooker and Summer Favorites.

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