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The Chefs
Kurt Stolte Tidbit Restuarant Kurt Stolte became interested in food at a young age as he watched his
mother prepare dinner for the family. He liked being in the kitchen to observe, and though he was mostly in his mother's way,
she never chased him out. As Kurt grew up he was often found in the kitchen between meals conducting culinary experiments
and learning from his mistakes. Soon he was turning out dishes for family and friends and their positive praise encouraged
him to pursue his hobby. His first job was in the kitchen of a nursing home, where he learned how to bake cakes and properly
handle knives without cutting himself.
After cooking under chefs at a dozen Seattle restaurants he decided to take
the leap and become a chef himself. Kurt takes a simple approach to food, letting the natural flavor of the ingredients take
center stage. He pays attention to the seasons and likes to use locally grown produce. He looks forward to cooking for his
guests each night and hopes they will continue to enjoy his thoughtful dishes as much as he enjoys preparing them.
ilovethaicooking.com
About Sabrina Tinsley
Chef extraordinaire and co-owner Sabrina Tinsley’s love for cooking
grew from spending time with her mother, who prepared meals from the treasures in the family garden. In college, she discovered
her avocation could be a career and decided to attend cooking school in Italy. There, she met her future husband, Pietro Borghesi.
The couple opened a piadina shop, where they served the traditional sandwich to appreciative locals. Sabrina and Pietro moved
to Seattle and, in October 1998, opened Osteria La Spiga. Sabrina’s sister, Sachia Tinsley, joined her in the kitchen,
where they lovingly created dishes from the Emilia-Romagna region. After eight years at the Broadway spot, Sabrina and Pietro
decided to relocate Osteria La Spiga to a more spacious home on 12th Avenue. Praised for her skill and creativity, Sabrina
has been featured on numerous television and radio programs and as a key speaker in various food forums and fund-raising events.
On rare days off, Sabrina enjoys spending time with her husband Pietro and their two children.
PRANEE KHRUASANIT HALVORSEN COOKING TEACHER OWNER OF I LOVE THAI COOKING
Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen,
best known as Pranee, first learned Thai cooking as a child in Phuket, Thailand, where her mom was a village chef famous for
her Hua Mok, fish cake. Pranee's earliest kitchen chores included grating coconut, pounding curry paste and cooking rice.
By age 12, she took on more responsibility as the substitute cook for the family. Later, she worked for the Public Health
Department on weekdays while helping with her family's food business on weekends.
When Pranee married and moved
to Seattle, she brought along a mortar and pestle and filled her kitchen with Thai herbs, spices and cooking equipment. Soon,
friends started asking her for Thai cooking lessons. The best way to enjoy Thai food is to cook and share it with friend,"
she says. "I loved the idea of having good times, socializing with people and sharing food the way it's done in Thailand."
To teach cooking, she discovered, was also more fun because she could share her skills and experiences along with the laughter
and excitement of each culinary result.
Today, Pranee is a member of the International Association of Culinary
Professionals (IACP), a caterer, tour guide and cooking instructor whose popular classes in Thai cuisine are sellouts throughout
the Northwest. She is a culinary educator at several cooking schools throughout the Seattle area and many of her recipes
appear in The Veg-Feasting Cookbook and fund-raising cookbooks for KCTS. Pranee visits Thailand annually to collect
and preserve recipes from her family and her hometown Thai village. She leads culinary trips to Thailand where she teams up
with other Thai chefs so Westerners can experience Thai food and culture in Bangkok, Ayuthaya, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phang Nga
and Phuket.
Pranee also offers private cooking lessons in home kitchens and caters private parties with authentic
four-course Thai dinners. She focuses on fresh ingredients and uses Thai herbs from local markets.
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| Executive Chef Wayne Johnson |
WAYNE A. JOHNSON
EXECUTIVE CHEF
ANDALUCA RESTAURANT,
MAYFLOWER PARK HOTEL, AND OLIVER’S
Born April 29, 1958
in Ft. Knox, Kentucky, “army brat” Wayne Johnson traveled the world, experiencing the diversity of various cultures
while growing up. No matter where his family was based, the Johnson’s were always together with family in Kentucky
during the holidays, and his mother’s famous “feasts” were a definite influence on Wayne’s cooking
in later years.
As a high school and college Greco and Roman style wrestler, Wayne took to running four to five
miles a night to stay in shape after enjoying “…those crazy feast times where Mom gave me the opportunity to
taste so many different types of dishes.” Wayne’s culinary adventures started in high school, working as a dishwasher
and prep cook, as he worked towards the purchase of his first car. He headed off to school at University of Northern Colorado
to study accounting and spent the next three and a half years cooking his way through college.
In 1981, Wayne moved
to Vail, Colorado, where he decided to pursue a culinary calling, which by his own account “…becomes more fun
with each passing year.” Starting a career with the Marriott Hotels and Resorts from 1981 to 1990, Wayne worked
in various positions, from expeditor to cook, to line supervisor, to food production manager and eventually became banquet
chef.
In 1990, Wayne took his first Executive Chef position. Becoming Executive Chef was the culmination
of a “ten year dream”. Wayne served in this capacity at several Bay area hotels. Most recently he
was Executive Chef for three years at the four-diamond rated Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel in San Francisco.
With over
20 years of culinary experience, Chef Wayne has been a board member of the Chef Association of the Pacific Coast. He
has special training in the foods of Spain from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America – Greystone, located in
Napa Valley, which serves him well in the Mediterranean inspired Andaluca.
In 1999, Wayne was lured north and
became Executive Chef of the Mayflower Park Hotel in downtown Seattle. As such he oversees all food activities for the
hotel, Andaluca Restaurant and Bar, and Oliver’s Lounge.
At Andaluca, Chef Wayne gathers fresh local products
and uses the seductive flavor of Mediterranean spices such as cumins, saffrons, paprikas and cinnamons to produce a palate
of unique and flavorful menu items. Under his supervision, Andaluca has won “Seattle’s Best Mediterranean
Restaurant” award three years running and Seattle Magazine’s “Best Overall Restaurant” award. It is
listed in the ZAGAT Survey 2003 as one of “Seattle’s Top Mediterranean Restaurants” as well as being recognized
in the top forty for Decor.
Chef Wayne was honored with an invitation to cook at the James Beard House in
New York City on January 14th, 2002. During the same visit, Wayne was also asked to teach a cooking class at New York’s
famed French Culinary Institute.
Chef Wayne is committed to pledging personal attention to the Seattle community.
Musing philosophically, Wayne says “As I look at my career and success, I respect it like any good relationship; it
takes patience. I feel fortunate that I was able to learn from so many skilled professionals who were willing to share
their expertise. In my gratitude, I realize the best way to honor them and pay back for tools received would be to continue
passing along the knowledge.” He spends time throughout the year serving homeless youth, teaching and training
youth how to eat nutritiously, sharing culinary talent with homeless men and women, and preparing holiday meals for area firefighters.
These acts have led to local and national awards from Seattle Rotary, Washington State Hotel and Lodging Association, Washington
Society of Association Executives, and the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
CuisinebySuzanne.com
Suzanne Hunter Chef Instructor Suzanne Hunter
has been catering and teaching cooking in the Seattle area for 20 years.
She
has a bachelors degree in mathematics and an MBA.
She is
a CCP (certified culinary professional) with the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals). She has
studied French cooking with French chef John Snowden in the 1960’s, Italian cooking with Marcella Hazan in Italy,
Chinese cooking at the Hong Kong Gas co. in Hong Kong, China, and with Jacques Pepin and Kaspar Donier in Thailand, Singapore
and Vietnam, etc. She has studied many cuisines with many chefs here in the U.S. In addition, she has traveled the world with
the IACP and with the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) studying the local cuisines indigenous to each region such
as Tunisia, Turkey, Sicily, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Paris , the southwest and the south east of France, All over Italy,
and in many areas of India.
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| Jeff Maxfield The Space Needle |
Jeff Maxfield
Space Needle Sky City Having
grown up in Seattle, Chef Jeff brings a keen taste for regional culinary influences and is infusing these throughout the new
menu at the world renowned revolving restaurant. He places great value on enhancing SkyCity’s unique dining experience
by catering to each guest’s palate, and brings new twists to old favorites while highlighting unique seasonal fare.
Additionally, Chef Jeff focus’ on personally handpicking local produce and ingredients from area farms and vendors.
Through a harmony of authentic flavors, he tells the story that has made the Pacific Northwest the culinary mecca that it
is today. Most recently an executive chef with Southbridge Restaurant Group in Scottsdale, Ariz., he opened the first of three
full-service restaurants on the Scottsdale “waterfront” for entrepreneur Fred Unger. Chef Jeff was responsible
for all aspects of restaurant start-up, as well as creating a high-end European-style marketplace menu by using sustainable,
local and organic products. Chef Jeff began his career as a line cook at the Seattle Tennis Club, from there, he continued
to enhance his culinary experience in various positions, including Sous Chef at Seattle’s Canlis Restaurant where he
developed his passion for all things “Pacific Northwest” under chef and author Greg Atkinson. He served as Executive
Sous Chef at The Five Palms Beach Grille in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii, and Chef de Cuisine at Seattle-area restaurants Chez Shea
and Golf Club at Newcastle. Chef Jeff is a graduate of West Seattle High School and has an Associate’s Degree of Applied
Science/Culinary Arts from South Seattle Community College. He lives in Issaquah with his wife Christal and their two pugs.
John Bell is the winemaker and sole owner of WILLIS HALL, LLC. In the early
1980s, John developed an interest in wine appreciation. Pursuing all avenues to learn about wines for over 15 years, John
determined that further learning could come about only by his actually making wine. Because he was an employee of The Boeing
Company, John availed himself of the opportunity to join the Boeing Employees' Wine and Beermakers' Club, a.k.a. the Boeing
Wine Club, giving him access to the accumulated experience of fellow members, some of whom had started commercial wineries,
as well as access to some of the most highly regarded vineyards in Washington State. John's palate, which
had been developed from his earlier wine education, enabled him to fashion wines that were awarded Best-of-Class, Gold, and
Best-of-Show awards. The next logical step for John was to start WILLIS HALL, so that his wines could be made available for
general purchase, consumption, and enjoyment. Vintage 2003 was the inaugural vintage for WILLIS HALL. In 2004 John retired
from Boeing and is now making wine full time at WILLIS HALL. And in April 2006 in their inaugural Washington Wine
Awards, Seattle Magazine honored John by naming him Best New Winemaker in Washington.
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| Executive Chef Bretrand Boutray |
BERTRAND
DE BOUTRAY COOKING
INSTRUCTOR
With an aristocratic ancestry, Bertrand is
a French-born American chef who has a passion to share his knowledge and love of his native country. Living in Seattle, Washington,
he is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef who began his business, Bertrand Chez Vous, in 1995. Along
with offering his hands-on Cooking Together Parties for people who primarily live in the Pacific Northwest,
he introduced his unique Gastronomic Tours to France with Bertrand in 2000. They were an instant success
and continue to be one of the finest trips anyone could experience. He frequently returns to France
to find new regional restaurants and interesting sites for his popular tours. His trips receive rave reviews from everyone
who has the pleasure to participate in them. Bertrand takes care of every detail - from arranging hotel accommodations, restaurant
reservations, travel in France along with fascinating and fun activities. He is always available to act as gracious host,
fluent translator and ready to assist each of his guests with any need. Because of his first hand knowledge of France and
the places and people only he knows, his guests' experiences are unmatched by any other tour. With
extraordinary energy and enthusiasm, Bertrand also offers Team Building Cooking Classes for staff members
of corporations and small businesses, has given cooking classes in retail settings and contributes his talents to a number
of charitable organizations. He belongs to a number of professional culinary associations that include The International Association
of Culinary Professionals, the Washington State Chefs Association, the James Beard Foundation and is President of the Seattle
Chapter of La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.
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