Amy was born on October 23^rd, 1972 to Linda and Harry Knox in Milford, Michigan, USA. When she was two years old, her father, who worked for a designer clothing company, found it necessary to uproot his family to Wilton, Connecticut, closer to the fashion industry of New York City. Growing up, Amy recalls baking goodies and canning fruits with her grandmother. "I enjoyed being in the kitchen even back then," she fondly remembered.

         Amy and her older brother attended Driscoll Elementary School and after graduating, she enrolled at Wilton High School. After satisfactorily completing her studies at Wilton High in 1990, she pursued an interest in Hotel/Restaurant Management. Amy applied to The University of Denver, which  ranked as one of the top five universities in this field. After being accepted, she bid farewell to her family and moved to Denver.

        Amy attended school full-time and during her free time worked at Gunther Toody's, a 50s "retro" diner. After graduating from the University of Denver in 1994, Amy went in search of the best training available in her field. She moved to Hyde Park, New York and enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

       At the institute, Amy learned the basics of cooking, from preparing sauces to basic desserts. Part of her syllabus included an externship (an off-campus job training program) located in New Orleans, Louisiana. There, she was able to put what she had learned into practice. Amy first prepared salads and hot appetizers but was later put in charge of the grill. "It was my first real working experience. It was hard work but I enjoyed it," she recalled. After a year and half, Amy returned to the Institute where all of her perseverance finally paid off in December of 1996 when she graduated with an Associate's Degree in Culinary Arts.

        After graduating, Amy paid a visit to her aunt in Sarasota, Florida. She enjoyed the warm climate so much that she decided to move there. After mailing out her rÈsumÈ to several business establishments, she received five different job offers, eventually accepting a position at the Colony Beach Tennis Resort.

        Within two years, she was presented with another wonderful offer from the owner's son who was opening a restaurant and wanted her to become a part of his team. At Pattigeorge's, Amy worked as the Sous Chef taking care of the day-to-day management of the restaurant.

        After two years, Amy returned to Colony Beach Tennis Resort as their Restaurant Manager. Soon after, she seized an opportunity to do a television-cooking program for Florida's Channel 40, preparing three delicious meals on live television. In addition to this acclaim, in December 2001, she proudly accepted the Manager of the Year Award at the Colony.

        The following year, Amy was looking for a new challenge and received an E-mail about a resort needing a chef in Belize. After accepting the position of Head Chef at Victoria House, she had only a month to sell all her belongings in Florida before relocating to sunny San Pedro Town on October 20^th, 2002.

        Amy immediately began working and found it was very easy for her to acclimate to island life. "San Pedro is not very different from Florida, climate wise. However, people here are so much nicer than in the US and it is not a ërat race.' Everybody is generally so friendly," she commented.

        As the chef at Palmilla Restaurant, Amy seized an opportunity to compete in the Tastes of Belize Culinary Gala. On May 24^th, 2003, she competed with the best chefs from around Belize for the coveted Chef of the Year title. Amy proved she had "what it takes" and won the Chef of the Year award. As a result, she was given an opportunity to travel to Ocho Rios, Jamaica to compete at the International Tastes of the Caribbean competition. In October 2003, Amy brought home the silver award with her delicious creation - Chili Seared Snapper Tower.

        Amy recently received another of life's great rewards when she became the mother of a baby girl, Gabrielle Rene. During her limited free space, Amy loves to spend time on the beach with her boyfriend, Robert Alexander and their baby. An avid scuba diver, she also enjoys diving the spectacular Barrier Reef.

        Amy has managed to find a way to work at what she enjoys best - cooking. She has made Ambergris Caye her home and finds no real interest in moving back to the United States. Amy Knox is ambitious with a sincere love for her career -  catering to others - providing them with a little "taste" of "Our Community."