Chadwick Fun Facts

I was in the Academy Award®-winning film, Dead Poet's Society.

I spent 16-18 hours every day on set with Robin Williams and a hundred other teenage boys who had "the Vermont preppy look" during my Christmas break. The producers fed us lobster on New Year's Eve for working overtime.

I wrote recipes for the TODAY Show Christmas show at 2 a.m. in the lobby of the Tribeca Grand Hotel - back when there was no kitchen in Studio 1A.

The next day, I helped Katie Couric plan her Christmas dinner in between cooking shoots - it was her first holiday dinner in her new Manhattan apartment (she chose rosemary lamb).

I credit my passion for branding and how it can drive pop culture to Mickey Drexler, the former CEO of The Gap and J. Crew.

I turned The Gap's managerial training program into an independent study in my junior year in college because I was beyond fascinated by how Mickey got America to wear The Gap khakis and denim shirts for Casual Friday and talk about colors like eggplant and tomato. My fascination with the anthropology of brands still endures.

I get goosebumps whenever I crack open a new book.

Every month during grade school, I got to spend $10 on new books. Books were my saving grace then. They make me feel alive and protected. Currently on my nightstand is Melissa Clark's "Dinner in French," Marianne Williamson's, "The Divine Law of Compensation," and David Lebovitz's, "L'Appart."

When I first began my career, I willingly volunteered to get up at 4 a.m. to catch the CNN bureau chief and share a story about fried chicken.

I think that's normal. Fried chicken is very, very important. So are really good stories.

I got an early break in national TV, developing a field piece for the holidays with a head-to-toe Chanel-obsessed CBS producer.

I've been hooked on creating fun daytime television stories ever since, though I'm partial to Billy Reid or Hugo Boss over Chanel.

My over-the-top obsession for organizing food TV segments came from meticulously studying every move the TODAY Show food and art production team made.

I still marvel at their work and use Post-it Notes to block out my pots, mixing bowls and ingredient dishes for any of our shoots. I got my break with Alexandra Pournaras in the early 2000s, and I am forever grateful to her and the TODAY Show team.

I am half Southern, half Pennsylvania Dutch.

My Southwest Virginia-born great-grandparents were tenant farmers. They settled in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania where I grew up. Our family table was made up of fried chicken, fresh garden vegetables, coconut custard pie...and biscuits. My maternal side is a pure line of Pennsylvania-rooted farmers dating back to the 1600s. I am the first generation of non-practicing farmers.

I learned how to write a successful recipe and put together a collection of dishes for a good story from two women: Sara Foster & Pam Krauss.

They taught me how to create relatable, easy-reading cookbooks so that home cooks can feel like they can successfully cook on their own. I still hear Sara's voice when I write as if she's standing next to me giving me guidance. I think of Pam's sage editing advice whenever I am organizing a story.

My first dinner party was Steak Diane and Twice Baked Potatoes.

I cooked for my Mama for her birthday from the big Betty Crocker Cookbook while dancing to the Flashdance soundtrack. I was 10.