Passion for Food: The People I've Met

Passion for Food Gallery

Passion for food

My Journey Through The World of Food

These are some of the amazing people who inspire me to create delicious, healthy food for people all over the world.

John 6:35 'Then Jesus said, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'

Food is a gift of God given to all creatures for the purposes of life's nurture, sharing, and celebration. When it is done in the name of God, eating is the earthly realization of God's eternal communion-building love.

Some of the finest chefs I know with the amazing Julia Child. This photo was taken at the CIA during our CMC exam in 2003...
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Julia Child autographing my mom's original 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' at the CIA... we were discussing a pike forcemeat I had prepared for her the previous day-priceless conversation!
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Certified Master Chef Dan Huglier, a great chef, mentor and friend. Chef Dan is an Olympic gold medal winner, outstanding in garde manger, avid outdoorsman.

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Ferran Adria, arguably the most innovative and greatest chef of our time. I had the privilege of helping facilitate Chef Ferran’s and his amazing sous chef Oriel Castro's presentation at the CIA
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Legendary NY Time's food critique Mimi Sheraton, Chef’s Daniel Humm, Victor Gielisse, Xaviar LeRoux and Alain Decoster at the Bocuse d’ Or competition tryouts. I adored reading Mimi Sheraton's food write ups in the early days of my culinary journey. She is one of my great heros.
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Certified Master Chef Ron DeSantis, an amazing mentor, chef and friend to me. (and so many others…)
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Thomas Keller, the greatest chef in America and Certifed Master Chef Victor Gielisse, one of my great culinary mentors.
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CIA grad, Celebrity Chef Hung Huynh with Alain DeCoster, Ron DeSantis, Rudy Speckamp & me at the Bocuse d' Or at the CIA.
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Researching brodo with author and chef Marco Canora & Richard Callodanato during our Campbell Soup days.
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Competing against amazing, Top Chef Celebrity Richard Blaise. Blaise won!
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Visiting with amazing, Celebrity Chef Spike Mendelsohn, Rob & Isaac of Campbell’s Soup. A great CIA graduate!
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with Celebrity Chef Maneet Chauhan at Campbell’s Soup, we were celebrating great woman that day.
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cooking with Certified Master Chef Tony Seta and McDonald’s VP Culinary Dan Coudreaut-two amazing chefs and friends.
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Ronnie Abrams grows a variety of carrots and vegetables for many of the largest soup companies, I had the pleasure of working with Ronnie to grow more delicious, tender carrots while at Campbell’s.
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Barton Seaver is a chef, author, expert on seafood and seagreens and great friend. I enjoyed many of his presentations on sustainability and use his cookbooks regularly.
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Elliot Coleman; author and one of the greatest organic farmers of our time. Four Seasons Farms in Maine. We met at the James Beard House when Elliot was receiving an award and I've enjoyed visiting his farm several times over the years.

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I was very blessed to work with Chef Dieter Schorner as an instructor at CIA late in our careers. This is a photo of our CIA team in Chicago preparing a Master Chef dinner during the National Restaurant Show. Amazing Chefs!
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Farmer Lee Jones; Chefs Garden in Huron, Ohio…. farmer of chefs! What a great company the Chefs Garden is for all of a chefs culinary needs. On the left is my wife, fellow R&D Chef Junnie Lai.
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Natasha Daniels, Corporate Chef at Rational… no question she is going to be famous!
We met at the Chef's Garden and I've been a fan ever since.
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What a special surprise to have my old friend, Chef George Vutetakis (one of the top vegetarian experts in America) over for a visit. We sliced and feasted (haha) on my first, ripe, San Marzano tomato from my greenhouse with a splash of EVOO and sea salt. Amazing chance for us all to discuss the Plant Based scene over a delicious celebration of stir—fried vegetables.

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Famed chef Roy Choi (former student of mine) at Campbell Soup Company, sharing his fantastic, inspiring culinary journey.
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Chef John Masi during an annual judging competition in memory of Noble Masi (at UMASS)
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While practicing for the CMC exam I competed in NYC with Graham Kerr moderating, CMC Victor Gielisse judging... a humbling day!
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Chef Bryan Cozzi assisting the amazing, celebrity Chef Elizabeth Falkner at the Chef's Garden
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Future chefs Ciro & Daniel Griffiths-great inspiration to me on a daily basis.
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Chef Dan on graduation day... what a proud day for us all.
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The 3 amazing chefs of Paffuto's restaurant & bakery in Philly
Jake, Dan & Sam. These young men butcher, bake & cook everything from scratch... and it's evident in how special their food is.
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When I first met Robbie as a new CIA student, there was something special about him. He had just stepped into the role of president for The Gourmet Society, the oldest, most prestigious club on campus. He asked me to be the sponsor.
Over the next three years, we built a strong friendship, I watched him grow from a new student finding his footing to a successful leader & budding entrepreneur. Robbie has become an extraordinary chef, entrepreneur, and person, and I’m excited to see where the next chapter of our journey takes us.
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Katie Lynch of Mighty Bread -one of the finest bakers in Philly

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Chef Andrew Lo (CIA grad) & Pauline Lo, Hong Kong restaurant owner. Always inspiring!
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Andrew Kaplan
AKA Kappy
is an amazing culinary & hospitality professional working as VP Culinary for Rachael Ray Entertainment. Kappy is a true visionary and inspires me daily!
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Ken Hess of County Smoak... arguably the finest BBQ in the country! Great chef and great person.
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Dave Kasabian
chef, author, marketing expert, CIA grad
one of my closest and most inspiring friends
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