I first started cooking at my family's restaurant when I was 6 years old. After graduating high school in 1988, I attended the Food Service and Management Course at Admiral Peary Vo-Tech School. Then, I attended the Culinary Arts School of Punxsutawney at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania where I received Culinary Arts Diploma in 1992. I am formally educated in the culinary arts with side training in ice carving and cake decorating. After working in a variety of restaurants in Pennsylvania, I moved to Bloomington in 2000 where I became the Executive Chef at Central Station Café. I managed the kitchen staff activities, directing and coordinating the preparation of restaurant meals and catering events. I began working at Illinois State in 2000 as a Food Administrator.
Variety would be a good word to describe my experiences throughout the last several years. I’ve worked in a number of settings from cooking breakfast as a line cook to managing a bar and grill. I have spent the last seven years with Campus Dining Services; first as a cook, then a lead cook, and now as a banquet sous chef.
I consider myself very fortunate because my employment has always been coupled with my passion for food. The science behind cooking as well as the emphasis on detail has always captivated my attention. While I did not always plan on a career in the culinary arts, the fulfillment I get from my work has certainly kept me involved in the culinary arts.
When I am not at work my wife, Jen, and I like to spend time at home working around our house and in the garden. While I may get to cook at work, at home Jen is truly the chef in our kitchen.
I have always enjoyed cooking. I always remember baking cookies and cakes at home with my parents. However, I didn’t discover my real fondness for cooking until after I graduated high school. My first real cooking job was for Biaggi’s Ristorante. I worked the pantry line, which consisted of prepping salads and desserts. Eventually I decided to transfer to Joliet Junior College (JJC), and enroll in their Culinary Arts program. While attending JJC I received an Award of Excellence my first semester, two scholarships my third semester, and became a Chef’s Assistant in my fourth semester. I graduated from JJC in May of 2007 and was hired on at Illinois State University on October 8, 2007.
I began my culinary career at The Hyatt Manchester Resort and Spa in San Diego, California in 1992. I became interested in food when I traveled Europe for six months after I got out of the Navy. I could not believe I had been missing out on culinary arts for the first 20 years of my life. After being there for a month, Executive Chef and West Coast Regional Chef of Hyatt asked me if I would be interested in the Culinary Apprenticeship Program he offered at the hotel. I accepted and spent the next six months in Garde Manger doing nothing but cutting fruit, cheese, vegetables, and lettuce to learn knife skills. The only things I got to cook were potatoes for potato salad and croutons. After that, I spent six months in the butcher shop, six months in pastries, and six months as the saucier. I then went to work in the hotel's fine dining restaurant, Sally’s on the Waterfront, a restaurant Wine Spectator ranked as one of the top ten eateries in North America. After two years there, I became a Sous Chef. I then joined the Hyatt opening team where I got to travel the world and open new hotels for two years. After leaving Hyatt, I opened an upscale steak house in Terre Haute, Indiana for a year. After that I worked at a few hotels and restaurants before going back to Hyatt in New Mexico where I developed a passion for Southwestern Cuisine. I started working at Illinois State in 2006.
