A seasoned food professional with 20 years of experience, Denise Vivaldo has catered more that 10,000 parties. Just last year, Denise catered Suzanne Somers' 55th birthday party at her home in Palm Springs, with a guest list that included Merv Griffin, Dick Van Dyke, Barry Manilow, Barbara Sinatra, and Jack Jones. She has cooked for President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Bette Midler, Patti LaBelle, Cher, Aaron Spelling, Sharon Gless, Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Maria Shriver, and Prince Charles.

She began her culinary training at the Ritz Escoffier and La Verenne in Paris, and then graduated Chef de Cuisine from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

In 1988, Denise founded Food Fanatics, a catering, recipe-development, and food styling firm based in Los Angeles, California. Since that time, she has had commissions for numerous prestigious events, catered scores of post-premiere and wrap parties for Hollywood movies, and styled food for countless local and nationally syndicated television shows. Denise has appeared as a guest on many nationally syndicated television shows as well.

She is also the author of How to Start a Home-Based Catering Business published by Globe Pequot in 1993. Now in its fourth edition, this book was chosen twice as a Book of the Month Club selection and has sold more than 100,000 copies.

Together with Cindie Flanningan, Martha Hopkins, and Andy Sheen-Turner, Denise has created a handy reference tool and creative party book that cooks will treasure for years to come.