Ashli Urano is a Dallas-based food writer and baker who came to both through a series of major life shifts.

After spending years teaching Catholic school, she pursued culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu and began writing about food professionally. In 2014, she was diagnosed with cancer and underwent extensive treatment, an experience that changed how she approached time and the decisions she made moving forward.

During her recovery, she began focusing on baking, particularly cheesecake. It was a natural direction, one that connected back to her brother, Dave, who had worked in the restaurant industry and started a cheesecake business at a young age before he passed away.

What started as something personal eventually became something more, bringing together her training and a connection to her brother she never really lost.