Thirty-five-year-old Nikki was born and raised in New York, N.Y.  She studied in the School of Culinary Arts and is now the chef and co-owner of 24 Prince Restaurant.  For many years, she trained on operations with great chefs like Jean-Georges, Shaun Doty and Anne Quatrano.  Nikki believes that a chef must not only possess excellent cooking skills, but must also be knowledgeable in running a business.  She's got an extensive knowledge in wine service as she is a certified sommelier.  For Nikki, the secret to being a true top chef lies in ones ability to experiment with flavors and ingredients from different parts of the world.  Her future plans include expanding her restaurant group and at the same time applying several new concepts.

Nikki is a contestant for Top Chef Season 4.


(Photo courtesy of Bravo)