Chef Mary Payne Moran is a wife, mother of two, chef & nutritionist with deep roots in the Culinary Industry in Los Angeles, California, but an Oklahoman at heart. After back surgery she reconsidered her goals and dreams of cooking in restaurants and catering and took to writing and teaching: adults and children about food. Mary’s cooking is a combination of good wholesome delicious family food, what she grew up on in Oklahoma with a mix of tangy, vegetable centric California cuisine. Mary works hard to teach good recipes that are easy enough to accomplish at home. Mary loves to customize and create menus, recipes and written material to meet the needs of the audience she is writing and cooking for. Mary enjoys teaching adults, but her true joy, LOVE and passion is to teach children about food.
She’s had over 15 years of experience cooking for celebrities, working as a chef at well known Los Angeles restaurants (Lucques, Michael’s, Larchmont Grill), private chef for celebrities, catering celebrity events, food styled for Print, TV and movies, writes a weekly food blog. She is also featured on Traditional Home, GoBankingRates.com, Key Ingredient, Appetites, That Morning Show, wrote and starred in 36 Cooking with Chef Mary episodes, Published in multiple magazines (Traditional Home, The LA Magazine, Redtri.com and more) as well as teaches cooking classes to children and adults across the country. Chef Mary graduated from The California School in Culinary Arts in 2002, took a course at The Tuscan Cooking School in Lucca, Italy in 2003 and gained certification for Nutrition and Weight Loss Specialist from The American Fitness Professionals and Associates in 2009.
ABOUT THE VITA GANG MYSTERIES: Deep in the heart of Farmville, where the air was clean and the fields were green, Super Chef Mary made The Vita Gang delicious dinners in her Mystic Kitchen. Out of the window Franco Fry was plotting his evil plan to stop the Vita Gang.
After the Gang finished their delicious dinner, they headed back to their own homes. As Vita D steps onto his porch he steps in grease and reaches for his chocolate covered rail. At that moment a candy rope reaches out and grabs Vita D. Franco Fry and side kick Carl Candy, kidnap Vita D in order to stop fresh vegetables from growing. Franco Fry wants his restaurant Fry Time, a fried food restaurant to thrive.
Super Chef Mary and the remaining Vita Gang go on the hunt for Vita D and uncover Franco Fry and Carl Candy's evil plan.
Super Chef Mary and The Vita Gang rush to the top of Brussels Sprouts Mountain to rescue their dear friend. When they finally take hold of Franco Fry and Carl Candy they realize they aren't evil at all just sad and need help. Super Chef Mary and The Vita Gang teach Franco how to mix in fresh vegetables in with fried foods to have a healthy life. Every chapter will include a kid friendly recipe taught by Super Chef Mary and the Vita Gang.
