 Chandonnet started cooking when she was 11 or 12 years old and was making meals for the family.In high school, she entered her jams and canned foods to the state fair.Her poems have appeared in anthologies and various magazines, including "Permafrost", "Ice Floe", "Abraxas", "New Kauri", "MidAtlantic" and "Calapooya Collage".