As the first female graduate of the California Sushi Academy, Tracy Griffith is one of the only female certified sushi chefs in the world. In addition to being a culinary artist, she is a visual and performing artist who inspires others to unlock and cultivate their unlocked creative potential through her teaching and art. Despite being part of a Hollywood family, Tracy chose to pursue her culinary passion after more than a decade of acting and has become a self-made success. Her ability to reinvent herself as a sushi chef continues to encourage busy moms to break free of their old routines, get in the kitchen and have the confidence to learn new ways of creating delicious, nutritious and beautiful food for themselves and their families. While working at Tsunami’s Restaurant in Beverly Hills, Tracy began experimenting outside the bento box and invented sushi rolls filled with comfort foods, including grilled steak, cheese, tomatoes, bacon and fried chicken. The intense popularity of her new sushi creations led to her first cookbook, Sushi American Style (Clarkson-Potter, 2004). Tracy’s originality in bringing sushi into the twenty-first century led to her becoming partner and sushi chef at Rika’s Restaurant in Hollywood, consulting chef to BarBersQ restaurant in Napa, California, and the architect of the Sushi American-Style menu for the international grocery store chain Dean & DeLuca. In 2007, after recognizing her innovative contributions to the culinary profession, the American Academy of Chefs (AAC) inducted Tracy into its honor society, the American Culinary Federation (ACF). In 2008, she became a member of the prestigious Les Amis d’Escoffier Society, which recognizes achievements in the art of fine dining and culinary education. Since 2010, Tracy has served as Corporate Executive Chef for NewGem Foods, where she is responsible for promoting their innovative food products. She continues to travel worldwide, holding sushi events and classes and designing menus for international restaurants and resorts. She is working on a new restaurant venture and a second Asian art exhibit featuring her resin paintings, in Seoul, Korea, to open in fall 2013. With her husband, Tracy divides her time among Hong Kong, New York City, and Napa, California.