Denise ("DeDeMed") Hazime acquired a love of Mediterranean cooking at a very young age. Growing up in a large Lebanese family steeped in rich culinary tradition, she was exposed early on to a wide range of cooking techniques from her mother, who taught her the essentials for preparing all types of dishes the healthy Mediterranean way. As a child, if she wasn't in the kitchen helping her mother cook, she was in front of the TV watching Julia Child and Jeff Smith.