Natasha MacAller

Chef, Culinary Consultant and Cookbook Author

If cooking is an art and baking is a science, Natasha MacAller is a chef who flawlessly dances in both worlds. A former professional ballerina, Natasha known as the “DancingChef” brings the same diligence and precision to the kitchen as she did to dancing. Many people think they’re world’s apart-from ballerina to chef – but to Natasha, they are both performance arts, creative disciplines that demand dedication and hours of painstaking practice. 

Natasha began ballet lessons at six and turned professional at 13. During her 30 years as a professional ballerina she performed with New York’s prestigious Joffrey Ballet and the Boston Ballet companies finishing her whirlwind ballet career in the Broadway and Los Angeles productions of The Phantom of The Opera.

Realizing that she could not dance forever, Natasha used the time during seasonal layoffs to hone her self-taught culinary skills and set up her own catering business. For eight years she owned and operated Dancing Chef Catering, serving mainly TV, theatre, film and foodies in NYC and catering in challenging locales; including sailboats and skyscrapers. 

Years later as the DancingChef, Natasha’s most treasured and magical culinary annual event as kitchen coordinator of 13 star chefs for 9 years at “Cuisines of the Sun”, Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows on Big Island, Hawaii. Working with the most celebrated international chefs each year, Cuisines” was rated the top culinary event in the world.

After Los Angeles Phantom closed, Natasha chose to train professionally at culinary school (over becoming a physical therapist!), ran a catering business, estaging with Michelin starred chefs, working restaurant shifts straight out of culinary school. Natasha won a gold medal for Team California at the Culinary Olympics in Berlin, Germany. She got her first real restaurant job at Wolfgang Puck’s original Sunset Strip’s Spago under the tutelage of Executive Chef Sherry Yard and learning about the real world in a restaurant kitchen, life moved faster than a Balanchine ballet! (or NYC’s Columbus Circle at rush hour!) A few years later, Natasha was hired as head pastry chef at Union in Santa Monica, igniting her passion and focus for “First and Last” starters and desserts. 

Author of three internationally recognized cookbooks Vanilla Table, Spice Health Heroes and The Taipa Salt Pig-Recipes, Natasha is currently working on her fourth book and continues taking great delight in creating and sharing new taste sensations.

Tash divides her time in Los Angeles, New Zealand and London consulting with chefs, influencers, restaurants, purveyors and farmers markets on menu and recipe creation. She passionately participate in charitable culinary events worldwide and takes great joy in mentoring and advising eager foodies and teaching cooking classes to curious home cooks and up and coming chefs. 

And still dances…in her kitchen!