About
Mary Brings Her Love & Passion of Food & Kitchens to You
Chef Mary Payne Moran is a wife, mother of two, and a chef with deep culinary roots in Los Angeles, California—but she’ll always be an Oklahoman at heart. After a challenging back surgery, Mary rethought her dreams of working in bustling restaurant kitchens and catering events, shifting her focus to sharing her love of food through writing and teaching.
Her cooking is a beautiful blend of the wholesome, hearty family meals she grew up with in Oklahoma and the vibrant, fresh flavors of California’s farm-to-table cuisine, especially from her beloved Silver Lake neighborhood. With every recipe, Mary strives to create dishes that not only taste exactly like they should but are also simple enough for anyone to replicate at home with ease.
Whether crafting a customized menu for a special occasion or writing for a particular audience, Mary’s goal is always the same: to make cooking an enjoyable, accessible experience that leaves people feeling empowered in their own kitchens.
About the Author
Mary Payne Moran is a Los Angeles-based chef, culinary educator, and author whose journey to the kitchen has been as extraordinary as the meals she creates. With over 20 years of experience in the culinary world, Mary is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena and trained at The Tuscan Chef Italian Cooking School in Lucca, Italy. She also holds a certification in Nutrition and Weight Management from the American Fitness Professionals & Association.
Mary’s culinary career has taken her across kitchens and continents, cooking for A-list celebrities, world-renowned athletes, and even royalty. For ten years, she was the resident chef for Traditional Home Magazine, creating timeless recipes that blend nostalgic comfort with a modern, elegant touch. Her work has been featured on hit shows including Hell’s Kitchen, Nailed It, and Sugar Rush, and she’s styled food for both film and television—most memorably for Sookie’s whimsical kitchen on Gilmore Girls.
But Mary’s life has never followed a simple recipe. On April 19, 1995, at just fifteen years old, she was in school in Oklahoma City when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed nearby. It was the second brush with trauma in her young life—having already survived an armed robbery at age eleven. These would be the first in a series of life-altering experiences, including a bombing in Europe, multiple incidents of gun violence, and a narrow escape from a plane crash—even after starting over in California.
Repeated exposure to trauma has shaped both her career and her capacity to nurture, teach, and create. Through it all, food became her sanctuary—her way to heal, to connect, and to empower others.
In 2022, Mary launched The Silver Lake Kitchen, a thriving cooking school in Los Angeles supported by the vibrant Silver Lake, Los Feliz, and Atwater Village communities. Her classes welcome students of all ages and abilities, focusing on sensory-friendly, exploration-based learning. Her philosophy—that cooking should be joyful, pressure-free, and confidence-building—has helped transform even the most reluctant eaters.
Mary is also the author of The Vita Gang Mysteries: Who Stole Vita D?, a whimsical children’s culinary adventure that promotes curiosity, courage, and healthy eating. As part of her mission to connect with young minds, Mary has traveled the country on book tours, engaging kids across the nation and sparking their love for food and cooking. The book has already garnered attention from high-profile supporters, including Howie Mandel, Jonathan Schaech, and P.J. Byrne. Most recently, Mary was photographed with legendary chef Thomas Keller, owner of The French Laundry, who praised her creative and heartfelt approach to food and storytelling.
Through her teaching, her storytelling, and her resilience, Mary Payne Moran shows us that food is far more than what we eat—it’s a path to healing, discovery, and connection.
