Guest Chefs

A native of North Carolina, Aaron Deal draws much of his inspiration from the diverse regional cuisines that the United States has to offer, especially the South. With over a decade of experience in various facets of culinary execution and management at some of the most renowned restaurants in the country, Deal has garnered wide [...]

Educated in California and Rhode Island.  Raised in Beaufort South Carolina, on St Helena Island.  Studied and trained with professional Chefs in California and the South.  Specialty regional cuisine is southern cuisine.  Chef got his start in his grandmother home on St. Helena Island, South Carolina.  His mother of course another big influence.  While in [...]

Andrew Carmellini’s cooking is soulful and flavorful, rustic and refined. It’s a style that reflects his American roots, his work in some of New York and Italy’s best kitchens, and his travels across Europe, Asia and America. Born and raised in Seven Hills, OH, Andrew learned from parents who loved simple, delicious food made well. [...]

Anita Lo, chef and owner of Annisa in New York City, is one of the most respected chefs) in the country, earning numerous accolades for her inventive contemporary American cuisine that reflects her multicultural upbringing and classic French training. Lo, a second generation Chinese-American, grew up with her family in Birmingham, Michigan and fostered an [...]

Chef. Innovator. Visionary. Anne Quatrano is widely held to be one of the country’s greatest chefs. Her meticulous attention to detail dovetails seamlessly with her devotion to freshness, flavor and simplicity. A longtime proponent of sustainability, Anne has – since her earliest days – prided herself in using locally grown seasonal and organic produce, much [...]

Anthony Lamas’ roots in the Latin culinary tradition run deep, as he found his passion for food while working in his family’s Spanish restaurant as a child. Likewise, his mother’s heirloom recipes sparked his interest in the cuisine of his Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage. By helping to prepare meals on the family farm and [...]

The combination of food and community have always played an integral role in Ashley Christensen’s personal and professional life.  Ashley began cooking for friends and family in college. Bringing people together at intimate dinner parties helped her recognize her passion for the craft of cooking and sharing food.  When Ashley landed her first professional cooking [...]

James Beard Award-winner Barbara Lynch is regarded as one of Boston’s, and the country’s, leading chefs and restaurateurs. While growing up in South Boston, Barbara got her first kitchen job cooking at a local rectory at age 13.  It was in high school, however, that an influential home economics teacher and a job working with [...]

BILL SMITH has cooked memorable suppers for most everyone who lives, farms or visits the good life in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is as well known for a New York Times Notable and Food & Wine Best-of-the-Best cookbook, Seasoned in the South, as for the way he tends to remember his customers’ favorite dishes. [...]

Chef Bryan Caswell travelled the world just so he could come home again. And when he did come home, he made a huge splash on Houston’s culinary scene, one of cannonball proportions. Caswell’s award-winning seafood restaurant, REEF, earned him a 2010 James Beard Award Nomination (Best Chef/Southwest) and 2009 Best New Chef Award from Food [...]

Now familiar as the braided powerhouse on Food Network’s hugely popular show The Next Iron Chef and Bravo TV’s Top Chef Masters, chef Celina Tio got an early start in the kitchen. Even at the tender age of eight, her typical day used to involve shopping lists, Julia Child re-runs, baking and cooking for family [...]

Bio coming soon.

Chris Hastings is chef of the nationally celebrated Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama, which he owns with his wife Idie.  Located in a historic building on the city’s Southside, the award-winning restaurant has earned a reputation for serving some of the finest and freshest dishes in the region.  The Hot and Hot [...]

Chef Edward Lee’s story – and his food – could only happen in America. One part Southern soul, one part Asian spice and one part New York attitude, Lee is a Korean-American who grew up in Brooklyn, trained in classical French kitchens, and has spent the better part of a decade cooking in Louisville, Kentucky. [...]

Ford Fry’s culinary inspirations cover many years and much of the country: from eating out with his family as a child in Texas, to studying at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, to spending time as a fine dining chef in Florida, Colorado and California—and eventually as a corporate chef in Atlanta. Although the [...]

George Mendes spent seventeen years honing his culinary knowledge, technique and style under the guidance of some of the world’s greatest culinary masters before opening his first restaurant, ALDEA, in May 2009. At the restaurant, located in Manhattan’s Union Square neighborhood, Mendes’ rustic yet refined cuisine has earned the restaurant a one-star rating from the [...]

bio coming soon

Chef Jennifer Carroll is a celebrity chef who first captured the hearts and taste buds of food lovers nationwide on Bravo’s Emmy and James Beard Award-winning television show Top Chef. She was a finalist and fan favorite on the sixth season of the popular series.  She also appeared on Top Chef: All-Stars. Born and raised [...]

John Currence was born and raised in New Orleans, LA to a family that loved to cook and spend time in the kitchen.  His mother’s travels with his father during his childhood, combined with the family’s several years in Europe, brought the dishes of the world to their dinner table, while time spent hunting and [...]

Joseph Lenn, Executive Chef of The Barn, leads his culinary team in providing the Foothills Cuisine for which Blackberry has come to be known. The Barn’s chef team prepares beautifully served multi-course menus, inspired by seasonal, farm-fresh products and produce, grown just a few feet away in the gardens. A carefully relocated bank barn from the [...]

Chef Kelly English graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and trained with celebrity chef and mentor Chef John Besh.  It’s his passion for cooking and commitment to uncompromised service that has catapulted him into the national culinary spotlight.  In 2010, English was named a James Beard Award Semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast, was named [...]

As one of Boston’s most notable chefs and restaurateurs, chef Ken Oringer’s career began under Chef David Burke at River Café in New York City before moving to New England to work as the Pastry Chef at Al Forno in Providence, Rhode Island and Jean Georges Vongerichten’s Le Marquis de Lafayette in Boston. After spending [...]

Bio coming soon.

Recipient of the 2008 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southwest, Lachlan’s burgeoning culinary career began at the Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1999 he moved to Paris to obtain his Certificate d’Aptitude Professionnelle at the prestigious Ecole Gregoire-Ferrandi. After completing his training, he apprenticed with Benoit Guichard at the [...]

Linton Hopkins is executive chef and owner of Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta, which he runs with his wife Gina. Named a “Best New Chef” by Food & Wine magazine in 2009, Hopkins is committed to celebrating the rich bounty of Georgia farms through his meticulous house-made preparations of naturally raised meats and local produce as [...]

Trained in Bergamo, Italy, by some of the region’s most noted chefs, Marc Vetri brings a bold, contemporary sensibility to classic Italian cooking. Within two years of opening his eponymous Philadelphia restaurant, Marc was named one of Food & Wine’s Ten Best New Chefs and received the Philadelphia Inquirer’s highest restaurant rating. In 2005, Marc won the James [...]

Marco Canora’s appreciation for good food flourished as a child growing up in upstate New York.  In the summer months, his mother’s harvest of herbs and vegetables served as the inspiration for dishes she enjoyed during her childhood in Lucca, Italy.  Marco spent hours, and years, cooking alongside her. Washing dishes at a well-respected local [...]

Mark Ladner is the Executive Chef of Del Posto Restaurant, on Manhattan’s Westside, which he opened in the fall of 2005.  The restaurant received a four-star New York Times rating in 2010, and has been more recently honored with one Michelin star, a Relais & Chateaux distinction, a grand award from The Wine Spectator and [...]

Chef Marvin Woods is an Emmy® Award-nominated television host, celebrity chef and author of lauded cookbooks, Home Plate Cooking and The New Low Country. He is recognized by fans and peers alike by his infectious personality, signature bandana and wildly inventive take on food rooted in northern Africa, South America, the Caribbean and the Low [...]

San Francisco chef Melissa Perello may not have known that she was destined to cook, but her mother certainly did when, one day after school, she found young Melissa de-boning a leg of lamb at the tender age of 12.  Growing up, Perello drew inspiration from the cookbooks and TV shows of Julia Child and [...]

Chef Michael Paley has had a love affair with pizza for most of his life. Having an Italian family and hailing from New Jersey, this was inevitable. Garage Bar represents a labor of love and a fascination with the art of making craft pizza. In addition to being part owner of Garage Bar, Paley is [...]

Bio coming soon.

As the son of displaced farmers, Michel Nischan, CEO, Founder and President of Wholesome Wave, grew up with a great appreciation for local agriculture and those who work the land. He translated these childhood values into a career as a James Beard Award-winning chef, author and restaurateur, becoming a catalyst for change in the sustainable [...]

Rene Ortiz is the executive chef of La Condesa Austin, a contemporary Mexican restaurant located in Austin’s vibrant 2nd Street district and a 2010 James Beard Foundation Award “Best New Restaurant” nominee; and La Condesa Napa Valley, which opened in September 2011.  A native of Texas, Ortiz crafted his signature culinary style during two decades [...]

The refinement experienced at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, N.C. is reflected in every bite of the property’s posh dining experiences, including its signature Herons, The Umstead Bar and banquet facilities. That’s due largely to Executive Chef Scott Crawford’s uncanny ability to spin even the smallest of details into culinary gold. Crawford serves [...]

Winner of the 2011 James Beard Foundations “Best Chef South” Stephen Stryjewski is the Chef and co-owner of the award winning Cochon Restaurant in New Orleans’ Warehouse District.   Prior to opening Cochon, he worked with his now partner Donald Link at Herbsaint Restaurant where he was recognized for his delicious, simple, straightforward cuisine and his [...]

Tory McPhail has followed a path forged from hard work to arrive at the historic Commander’s Palace restaurant’s storied chef dais, which has cultivated the likes of Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, and Jamie Shannon. McPhail hails from Ferndale, WA, a small town near the Canadian border, where he learned to appreciate local goods and the [...]

Raised in Sarasota, Florida, Trevor began working in the restaurant industry at the age of 14. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he joined the Blue Hill team in 2004 and has worked every station in the New York kitchen. Trevor was promoted to Chef de Cuisine in 2007, the same year he [...]

Executive Chef Tyler Brown leads one of Tennessee’s highly-praised Forbes Four-Star /AAA Four-Diamond restaurants. During Brown’s tenure at The Capitol Grille, the dining establishment has not only earned these coveted designations, but was also voted one of America’s best restaurants by Gourmet magazine was featured on The Food Network, and was recognized at the James [...]