Create with reckless abandon BY PLAYING IT SAFE.

A graduate from the Art Institute of New York, Chef Dino began perfecting his craft working in some of New York City’s preeminent kitchens including Le Bernardin, Alta, and the Marriott Hotel. An award-winning chef, Chef Dino is the author of Modern Tofu, a collection of delectable tofu dishes and insightful cooking methods for this favorite alternate protein.

Chef Gazaway has more than 30 years’ experience in the foodservice industry and has worked in both the public and private sectors. Consulting in kitchen design and menu development has also provided him with another avenue to apply his foodservice experiences. As a second-generation chef, Chef Gazaway’s culinary experiences have ranged from classical French to island themes developed for restaurants in Puerto Rico.

A second-generation chef, Chef Dragos’ 30 years of experience ranges from hotels, clubs, consulting work for major food manufacturers to training galley crews aboard military supply ships. This varied experience has allowed him to understand the problems and issues in many areas of foodservice. After an apprenticeship starting with his father, an American born chef, and continuing with both classical French and German training, his many years of living in the Southwest has built a vast repertoire of classical, indigenous Mexican, and Native American flavors.

Chef McCall’s background extends well beyond the concerns of the kitchen. Having worked in marketing, event planning, catering and on major national accounts, she is uniquely suited to understand and address the needs of commercial and noncommercial operations.

Chef Donato has enjoyed more than 25 years in the foodservice industry, primarily in the Southeast. Raised on the Chesapeake Bay, Chef Donato has learned to incorporate seafood into most any dish. His years of training at the renowned Trellis Restaurant in Williamsburg, VA, have taught him to use the seasons and the fresh available local provisions to create delectable culinary delights for his many patrons over the years.

Chef Rami has had a long career with Nestlé Professional_TM. After 21 years as a product specialist—working in catering and now as a corporate sous chef—she is a true expert on all Minor’s_® products. With personal interests ranging from food to more food, this is the perfect career for her.

Chef McGohan started his career being trained under a classical French chef. After culinary school he enjoyed traveling and experiencing new cuisines. He was fortunate to work at two five star hotel properties in California and Colorado. His introduction to corporate foodservice came while working for a food agency, which allowed him to work with many manufactures and national account restaurants.

Chef Sideras has a diverse and extensive foodservice background. Prior to joining Minor’s_®, he worked in white tablecloth, private clubs, as well as working as a corporate chef for a broad line distributor.

Before joining the Minor’s_® team, Chef Taylor was the Director of Culinary Operations for the International Air and Hospitality Academy in Vancouver, WA, where he also oversaw the Restaurant at the Historic Reserve as well as the instructor staff at the Northwest Culinary Institute. Chef Taylor’s background includes fine dining restaurants, exclusive clubs, upscale retirement communities, casinos, and experience as a culinary director. His passion for food, education, and passing on the traditions of culinary arts shows in his commitment to quality and attention for detail.

With his broad range of experience in restaurants and with foodservice manufacturers, Chef Nelson provides Minor’s_® customers insights and expertise grounded in decades of experience in overcoming challenges in nearly every food segment.

Chef Ricci has a diverse and extensive foodservice and marketing background. He has served as corporate executive chef for Alto Shaam and Silesia, manufacturers of foodservice kitchen equipment. His culinary and management skills were rounded out as a chef in training under Chef Anton Wolfe in Hamburg, Germany.

Having worked as an executive chef, food & beverage director, business development director and consultant, Chef Diekman has deep understanding of the dynamics of foodservice and a well-rounded view of the hospitality industry. His passion for food, thirst for knowledge, and enthusiasm for sharing makes Chef Diekman a great resource both in and outside of the kitchen.

Chef Wismer’s distinguished culinary career began in Switzerland. He apprenticed in Zug, his hometown, as a pastry chef and trained in Geneva to become a certified chef. From there, he worked at a number of 5-star hotels and restaurants throughout Europe.

Chef Wassler’s culinary leadership began early as a member of Johnson & Wales Culinary Olympic team. Professionally, his career advanced quickly from kitchen manager to executive chef— a title he carried with several successful restaurant chains. Most recently, Chef Wassler served as a business development chef with the nation’s largest broadline distributor where he applied his culinary creativity, operational know-how, and business acumen to create new growth opportunities for his operators.

In a short time, Chef Logan advanced from culinary apprentice at a Michelin 1-star restaurant to lead culinary events chef at his alma mater, Johnson & Wales. Along the way, Chef Logan has taken advantage to participate in marquee events and competitions, including the Emeril Lagasse Golf Classic. As a product development chef for KOR Food Innovation, Chef Logan’s concepts have found themselves into menus across the country.

Chef Mary Locke has worked in the foodservice industry for more than 30 years, perfecting her craft as executive chef with a variety of restaurant concepts. Her career blossomed at Aramark, where she oversaw foodservice operations for 18 units and was promoted to associate district manager. Residing on one of upstate New York’s renowned Finger Lakes, Chef Mary is passionate about scratch-made cooking and bringing the benefits of farm-to-table mainstream.

Chef Fuss has worked his way through kitchens across the Philadelphia region as both an Executive Chef and Culinary Consultant. In 2003, he began teaching at The Art Institute of Philadelphia where he provided daily instruction to students, managed the student-run restaurant, and coached the culinary team in various competitions.

In 2014, Chef Fuss took the position of Culinary Development Chef with Aramark Corporation. Working at the Aramark Innovation Center, he and his team designed retail menus served across the country.

Chef Flathers’ experience in the fast-paced— and at times high profile— world of fine dining in one of the nation’s top travel and entertainment destinations is noticeably apparent. His aptitude to spotting opportunities for improvement, both in FOH and BOH operations, enabled him to advance quickly. As a business development manager, he has built a reputation by partnering with customers and internal product development teams to find quick wins—whether it be in the form of LTO’s, menu development projects, or even new product innovations.

Chef Sampson has extensive experience running fine dining kitchens as well as product development for restaurant chains. She specializes in Italian/Mediterranean and Asian cuisine, and believes the greatest reward of being a chef is to see people enjoy, and be nurtured by, the food she’s prepared.

Big events are no big deal for Chef Orlando Apodaca. After spending nearly a decade in the sports & entertainment industry with the Dallas, Texas, franchises of the House of Blues, NHL, and NBA. During that time Chef Orlando participated in a number of historic events including the 2011 NBA Finals and 2000 NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Chef Orlando got his start at the world famous Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, before joining the cruise industry in the Pacific northwest and later the Four Seasons Hotels in Hawaii and Sydney, Australia.

Chef Andresakes earned his culinary arts degree from the Culinary Institute of America. His foodservice experience is quite diverse and extensive. Prior to joining the Minor’s_® team, Chef Andresakes worked for food brokers, clubs, restaurants, and also served as an instructor at the Academy of Culinary Arts in Lakeland, FL.

Chef Lutz earned his Culinary Arts degree and his Bachelor of Science degree from Johnson & Wales College and has over 24 years of professional experience in restaurant kitchens. As Corporate Executive Chef at the Nestlé Professional_TM Customer Innovation Campus in Solon, OH, Chef Lutz aims to bring the excitement and rhythm from the fast pace of the restaurant industry into the Nestlé^® kitchens, where he develops branded and customized products.

Currently, as a Nestlé Professional^TM Corporate Chef, Chef Franklin provides hands-on support to large Customers in areas of training, collaborative and consultative concept and product development. He’s an innovative problem solver with great leadership skills that are dedicated to getting things done.