Upon graduating from the CIA, Shelly D. Owens worked at the Showboat Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, was the assistant pastry chef at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, NY and the pastry chef at the Carolina Club in Chapel Hill, NC.
Owens has taught at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, East Carolina University and she was the director of culinary arts at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Owens holds two certifications from the American Culinary Federation: Culinary Educator and Working Pastry Chef, two certificates from the International Sommelier Guild and is a certified ServSafe Instructor/Proctor.