Hello, my name is Nicole Rochelle Flanders.  I am the oldest of three children.  I grew up in Athens, Michigan, a small rural community just south of Battle Creek.  I graduated from Athens High School & then quickly  enrolled at Kellogg Community College.  After one semester I transferred to Western Michigan University majoring in Architecture.  During my second term at Western an opportunity presented itself to study abroad in London, England at the American Intercontinental University.  A month later I was in London.  It was the experience of a lifetime.  In between my studies I traveled throughout Europe & Northern Africa.  Being introduced to so many different cultures, customs, & people instilled a global passion that shaped me into the person I am today.  After returning from England, I came back to Battle Creek & began taking classes at Western again.  I quickly realized that my interest was no longer in Architecture & began researching culinary schools. 

I decided that The Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago was the one I would attend.  I moved to Chicago & began the fall term.  In keeping with my free spirit, I accepted a marriage proposal from my boyfriend.  He was a military man so that meant I had to stop culinary school & move to Cheboygan, Michigan, where he was stationed on the UCGC Mackinaw.  While living in the middle of nowhere, I managed to work my way into the Bay Harbor Yacht Club as a garde manger cook.  We lived in Cheboygan for about three years & then transferred to Detroit.  I enrolled in the culinary department at Oakland Community College & obtained an Associate Degree of Sciences.  I gained more experience as a baker at the Detroit Athletic Club & Cuisine restaurant.   As I moved on to the next page professionally, my marriage came to a close & we went our separate ways.  I moved to Kalamazoo to be closer to my friends & family.

After settling in my new apartment, I found a job at the Radisson Plaza Hotel as the pastry chef at Webster’s.  I was working under a very talented Executive Chef Tiffany Sawyer.  A short time later she moved on to pursue other adventures & that’s when I answered an ad for The Fountains.  Almost three years later, here we are.  I met my partner Joel, and we have a beautiful daughter Gabrielle who is fifteen months old.  I love and adore them both.  They have added a priceless value to my life that no words can express.