Crystal Echevarria
Crystal has always had a passion for cooking and an interest in health and fitness. She has worked in kitchens, fitness facilities, and even child nutrition programs. In each of her roles she noticed a common interest: people wanted to eat healthy, but weren't sure how to do it. After realizing how many people struggled with this, Crystal started Culinary Confidante.
Crystal believes, "we are what we eat". With a background in nutrition, she tries to incorporate as many fruits and vegetables as she can into her own diet and her cooking often reflects that. From 2019 - 2025, Culinary Confidante was completely plant-based. Since that time, Crystal has begun to reincorporate all foods back into her diet and menus. All this to say, she has extensive experience creating foods to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and dietary preferences. Today Crystal focuses on creating beautiful food with the highest quality ingredients available.
Outside of the kitchen, she enjoys lifting weights, walking her Great Dane Roux, and spending time with her kids. In her own kitchen, she can usually be found experimenting with new recipes and drinking a glass of wine. It's her own creativity in the kitchen that inspires her to empower others’ creativity in their kitchens. Crystal Echevarria received her B.S. in Nutrition, Dietetics & Hospitality from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois before attending Kendall College’s Culinary Arts program in Chicago where she earned her Personal Chef & Catering Certificate.
