About Me

My name is Hayley and I am a twenty something residing in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Even though I grew up with an amazing cook of a mom, cooking and baking weren’t really familiar to me…in fact, neither was the kitchen. (It is true that I used to enlist my younger sister in making me grilled cheese). But when I spent a semester studying abroad in England, during my sophomore year of college, all of that changed. The limited options for sustenance at the meager campus caf left something to be desired and I grew tired of potatoes five ways. So it was there, that I began cooking in the humble little kitchen on my dorm’s hall, with my friends. We dreamt up elaborate theme salads and I was introduced to parsnips and leeks and lo and behold, I was hooked. I acquired a newfound love for food and for creating.

When I returned to the States, I discovered Food Network, became a huge Giada fan and acquired a crush on Tyler Florence. I became oriented with and immersed in the vast world of food blogs and was inspired by the exquisite prose of Molly Wizenberg and the simply flawless photography and recipes from Smitten Kitchen—both of which inspired me endlessly. I had a brief phase with Rachel Ray (my first cookbook, though I wish I could say it was something admirable like Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”). But I was learning and I graduated from school and Rachel Ray. My tastes and cooking skills evolved and improved (no more instant pudding mix, store-bought pizza dough or frozen pie crust) and I grew bolder in my endeavors.

This little blog was born in 2009, after some encouragement from my boyfriend, the need to challenge myself and rekindle my love of writing (which had fallen by the wayside, as a default of the habitual mundane essays and reports for school). When trying to conjure up a name for the blog, I struggled a bit. I wanted something that had a ring to it but that was also meaningful to me. After much deliberation, I realized I always catch myself standing on my tiptoes when I’m in the kitchen. Tiptoes in the Kitchen just seemed right.

One of my favorite things in life is sharing the things I make with others, especially friends and loved ones—it is such a gratifying feeling.

I have an insatiable sweet tooth, making me more partial to baking. I’m always scheming my next meal and often find the conversation always comes back to food. I make some mean scrambled eggs, banana puddin’ and beignets (not all together). Caramel is my favorite thing to make because I always feel like a mad scientist, hovering over a pot of bubbling sugary mass, eagerly awaiting a chemical reaction and it amazes me how sugar and a touch of water can do all of that. Doughnuts (and beignets—oh beignets) make me giddy and the duck confit salad and moules frites at Vin Rouge makes me swoon. I detest cilantro, parsley, olives and raw onion. I adore good bread, figs, caramelized onions, apricot jam, nutty cheese with lots of enzymes, root vegetables, cherries, desserts laced with bourbon, bacon, sticky toffee pudding, roasted broccoli, fresh corn, tomatoes and peaches and cobbler in the summer, homemade ricotta, gin and cake, always cake.

Thank you for reading.