Marissa was born and raised in Newport Beach, California and attended Middlebury College in Vermont. After graduating, she worked in London and New York building her career in fashion and lifestyle publicity and ended up launching a number of luxury restaurants and nightclub brands for Ian Schrager. While living in New York, Marissa reconnected with Matt Hermer, a London based nightclub owner and restauranteur. She returned to London in 2008, she and Matt married shortly after and now have two sons, Jake and Max.Marissa has used her public relations expertise to help grow the family business, the Ignite Group, a UK based international food, beverage and entertainment corporation. Most recently, she opened Top Dog in London's trendy Soho neighborhood, which features custom-built hot dogs, fries and shakes inspired by American combinations, using Britain's best ingredients. She is also a cast member on Bravo's hit series, "Ladies of London".Growing up in Southern California, healthy eating was a way of life. Marissa was raised on avocados from her Grandmother's tree, on fresh-caught fish, Farmer's Markets and vegetables from the family garden. Even while raising a family in London, Marissa didn't want to completely lose her Americana roots so she started incorporating little California twists into the restaurant menus and her own family meals, such as choosing San Francisco-originated sourdough bread for the traditional British bread and butter pudding. She's also introduced her husband and friends to some of her favorite Americana dishes such as her Dad's apple and raisin porridge, Hamptons summer three-bean salad and Philadelphia's philly chilly cheese steak pot.Cooking is both a passion and profession for Marissa. Fortunately, she has a few foodie tricks to keep her British-husband happy, her picky eating children nourished, and her Californian soul satisfied. Show less «