Chefs

• Jaye Beeler
• Casey Bell
• Katey Borek
• Eric Chaitin
• Kent Cho
• Joe Cosgrove
• Hans Dokl
• J. Scott Hunter
• Cherie Ludwiczak
• Nick Marino
• Roz Mayberry
• Tom Nienhuis

• Chrysoula Ponopoulus
• Terri Rees
• Jorge Sanchez
• Amy Sherman
• John State
• Joel Tanner
• Len Towne
• Brenda Tran
• Steve Troupe
• Michael Whalen
• Stephanie Wiles

Chef Jaye Beeler

As the food editor and restaurant reviewer at The Grand Rapids Press, Jaye Beeler wants you to cook, eat and entertain and not get all bunched up about the details. With a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kentucky, Jaye combines solid newspaper reporting and a passion for food. With a heady exuberance, she's savored regional cuisine from Merida, Venezuela and Sydney, Australia, to major European gastronomic cities including, London, Edinburgh, Paris and Venice. She’s discovered the finest souvenirs to stuff in her suitcase are stacks of local cookbooks, kitchen gadgets and gorgeous gourmet foods from estate bottled olive oil, fruit jams, loose leaf tea to Tim-Tams, an Australian supermarket biscuit.

Chef Casey Bell

Chef Casey spent his childhood living overseas in various countries, including Spain, Japan, South Africa. He graduated from Culinary Institute, Hyde Park, New York and has been a chef for over 25 years. Chef Casey has been the Executive Chef of San Chez for fifteen years. He travels frequently to Spain to visit family and friends. Chef Casey also enjoys working on stone sculpture in his spare time.

Chef Katey Borek

Katey Borek is currently the Pastry Chef at Aquinas College. Katey began her culinary adventure when she received her Culinary Arts degree from the Grand Rapids Community College. Katey has worked many places throughout the greater Grand Rapids area including Tre Cugini and Sunnybrook Country Club, where she still makes desserts and pastries. Before she started at Aquinas College, Katey worked at beautiful Pala Mesa Golf Resort in sunny California as the Assistant Pastry Chef. She has also started her own cake business, “Cakes By Kate”. Katey’s love for cooking and creativity with food are what keep her in the field she loves the most.

Chef Eric Chaitin

As Executive Chef and General Manager for The Grille at Watermark Country Club, Chef Eric Chaitin is raising the bar with excellence in food, as well as hands on approach to guest satisfaction. He is a native of Chicago and received a culinary arts degree from Kendall College in Evanston, Illinois. Upon graduation, he joined Lettuce Entertain You, a large restaurant chain in the Chicago area. D&W Fresh Thyme Catering brought Eric to Grand Rapids as its catering chef and then promoted him to Corporate Chef. Before coming to The Grille, Eric was also with the Gilmore Collection of restaurants here in West Michigan “My goal as executive chef of The Grille is to create foods that are pleasing to the eye as well as the palate,” he proclaims. “If a customer discovers that something is missing from the menu or would prefer their dish cooked in a different way, I am happy to do so. They should never hesitate to let the wait staff know because I will personally prepare a dish to make sure they are satisfied.

Chef Kent Cho

Chef Kent Cho is currently studying sushi under his father Yang Shik Cho, who is a master chef in Asian cuisine. Working in the family business, Shogun Japanese and Korean Restaurant, Chef Kent has been studying his art for three years with a dedication of taking over his father’s business with the well-kept tradition and family recipes.

Chef Joe Cosgrove

Chef Joe Cosgrove has 20 years experience in the restaurant and food service industry. His work history has landed him in Philadelphia as well as Grand Rapids. He is especially adept at creating new and exciting dishes that both step out of the box, and tantalize the senses in new and creative ways. Joe started with Universal Restaurants Inc as a food & beverage manager. He later was a key member of the Steelcase Food Services team. Joe has also held positions with Boston’s Gourmet Inc. He is currently a partner in Ramona Catering Co.

Chef Hans Dokl

Hans is a graduate of the Gastgewerbe Fachschule in Lochau, Austria. Hans’ 21 years of experience in the Culinary Arts have taken him throughout Europe and the United States including The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, the Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale, Arizona, and The Hotel Bad Horn in Switzerland. Hans has worked with the Public Museum of Grand Rapids as Executive Chef since 2002. He has two children with his wife Donna.

Chef J. Scott Hunter

No stranger to the food service industry, Scott Hunter has worked in hotels and resorts throughout the United States. His work as Executive Pastry Chef has led him to several of the country’s top 5 star properties, including the Mauni Lani Bay Hotel in Hawaii, The Phoenician Resort, Scottsdale Arizona, the re-opening of the Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills California, and currently the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids Michigan.

Scott has been active in culinary competitions, earning ACF Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals and 2 best of Show awards. Scott was a member of the 1992 Team USA Southwest Region. While in Michigan, Scott has won the MSU Chocolate Competition five times, was invited to compete in the 2007 National Pastry Challenge in Nashville Tennessee, and is a mentor to the Fruitport Michigan Pro-Start High School Cooking Competition. Fruitport has won the state competition the last 4 years and placed 2nd, 4th and 2nd at National’s.

Cherie Ludwiczak

With a broad range of culinary experience in the food industry, Cherie brings a wealth of cheese knowledge to Spartan. She devotes a great deal of attention to sourcing the finest possible, local and imported cheese. Her passion lies in the marriage of pairing fine cheese with fruits, nuts, and chocolates to enhance their flavors.

Chef Nick Marino

Since the age of 18, he has been training for a career in food preparation through extensive world travel and on-the-job experiences made possible with the US Army. An assignment in Germany helped him learn what would later become the base of his education. Nick was able to improve and expand army recipes and was soon transferred as a personal chef to various General officers. As his skills matured he helped entertain VIP’s from foreign countries and government officials; among them, the President of the United States.

His awards are numerous, including nineteen gold, ten silver and eleven bronze medals in seventeen National Culinary Competitions; three gold and one silver medal in the Culinary Olympics in Frankfort, Germany and was on the Army team which won Grand Prix in Gold there. He went on to teach food service at the Army Quartermaster School. Most recently, he was awarded a bronze medal at the first annual Nutrition Challenge in Washington, D.C.

When Nick doesn’t have his hands in the dough, he is instructing others in the fine art of cooking. He has conducted more than nearly eighty seminars in high schools and colleges across the country. In 1985, West Michigan got its first taste of Nick’s exceptional flair for making food. He worked at the Peninsular Club and then went on to be Executive Corporate Chef for Schelde Enterprises, overseeing their fourteen restaurants around the state. In 1992 Nick’s dream of owning his own restaurant came true; Marino’s Restaurante opened its doors in November of that year. In 1997 Nick went to work as Executive Corporate Chef for River City Foods. He has also worked for Rafferties and TSO Catering.

He received his Associate degree in Culinary Arts from Baker College in 2004. He says “Now it’s official, I know how to cook.” He opened Peppino’s Italian Restaurant in Allendale in 2005. He retired in 2006. (Well, almost.)

Wine Specialist Roz Mayberry

Many years in France made D&W Fresh Market's Wine Specialist, Roz Mayberry, a hopeless lover of good things to eat and drink. Roz, a former English teacher and professor, teaches wine classes and serves as a judge on wine tasting panels. She is the retail representative to the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council. Although several years as part owner/chef of “The Catered Affair” cured her of any desire to cook under stress, it did not squelch her urge to make good things to eat and serve with good wine.

Chef Tom Nienhuis

Tom Nienhuis graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. After a one-year stint at Herman Miller's Marigold Lodge, he was employed as a private chef by Jay and Betty VanAndel. He then went on to Prince Corporation as their corporate chef for 23 years. Presently, he teaches cooking classes and runs Tom Nienhuis Catering.

Chef Chrysoula Ponopoulus

Born in a small village in Greece in 1949, Chef Chrysoula grew up in a family that was strong on tradition, values, and respect in family name. At the age of twelve I was sent away from home to the big city with my siblings to pursue additional studies that weren’t available in our tiny village. This was where I started cooking and baking. In 1966 Chrysoula came to the United States as a senior in high school, and went on to study math and science at Michigan State University. Married 33 years ago, she and her husband have two children.

“Growing up, holidays were always an extra special time centered on family and religion. My mother and grandmother served fantastic meals created from the land that we farmed. To this day, we continue to associate our meals with the simple and important things in life, the very things that bind our families and guide our faith. Since moving to Grand Rapids in 1974 I have organized cuisine for events ranging from festivals to bake sales to celebrations within the Greek Orthodox Church. Over the years, we have shared our cuisine with thousands of people. Whether cooking for my family or my church, I believe in sharing these gifts with others who can use them to promote the simple things in life that matter most.”

Chef Terri Rees

Terri Rees is currently a chef at Meyer May House. Previously she was Assistant Chef for Bissell, Inc. and is a recent graduate of GRCC's Culinary Arts Program, changing careers and following a lifelong passion. She is the owner/proprietor of Tuxedo Junction Catering, a personal chef/intimate catering company.

Chef Jorge Sanchez

Since 1983, Cuban–born Jorge Sanchez has influenced the West Michigan food scene with his creativity, consulting, and training. His most notable venture is the award-winning San Chez, a tapas bistro. He has also enhanced the dining culture of Western Michigan at Steelcase, Haworth, Bissell, and River City Foods. His menu consultation extends to Mexico and the Caribbean. He has won over 30 national and international culinary awards, including silver and bronze medals in the 1988 International Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany.

Chef Amy Sherman

After attending Aquinas College for political science, Amy Sherman found her true calling in the kitchen. She was pastry chef at Tuscan Express for nine years and currently runs her own baking company, Two Chicks and an Oven. She teaches cooking classes throughout Grand Rapids.

Chef John State, Executive Chef, JW Marriott Grand Rapids Hotel

John State is the executive chef of six.one.six, the signature restaurant of the JW Marriott Grand Rapids Hotel. The first JW Marriott hotel to open in the Midwest, John was instrumental in the design and concept of the restaurant, named for the Grand Rapids area code and themed “eat local, feel global”. State also oversees the hotel’s banquet services, destination lounge “Mixology,” and in-room dining services.

Former chef de cuisine of nationally-acclaimed Disney World restaurants California Grill and Flying Fish Café in Orlando, John helped craft the culinary reputations of top restaurants like the Lark Creek Inn in San Francisco’s Bay area and the award-winning Le Ciel Bleu in Chicago’s Mayfair Regent Hotel. His passionate cooking style and inventive interpretation of classic foods have earned high praise and accolades from some of America’s most respected culinary masters. John has also been a four-time guest chef at the prestigious James Beard House in Greenwich Village.

A native of Stevensville, Mich., John is an alumnus of the prestigious Washburne Trade School in Chicago and began his culinary career in the Midwest. He currently resides in East Grand Rapids with his wife, Kimberly, and four sons.

Chef Joel Tanner, C.E.C./A.A.C

Chef Joel has been in the food industry for over 35 years. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and received his certification from the American Culinary Federation as Certified Executive Chef in 1983. Chef Joel has earned numerous gold, silver, and bronze awards from the American Culinary Federation for competitions in food preparations, presentations, and ice carvings, and was the Chef Professionalism Award recipient in 2001 for the Central Region. Chef Joel was the 2002 American Culinary Federation Central Region Chef of the Year. He joined WMS in 2005 doing consulting and creating recipes designed around manufacturer’s products.

Chef Len Towne

“Chef Len” Towne received the prestigious Culinary Arts and Hospitality Restaurant Management degree from the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute. His experience includes positions at some of the finest five-star resorts and Fortune 500 companies around the country, from Phoenix to Miami to northern Michigan. Chef Len’s passion for innovation and commitment to quality will ensure that all your culinary needs are satisfied. He currently is chef of his own restaurant “At The Diner” in Zeeland.

Chef Brenda Tran

Chef Tran is originally from Thobor-Nong Khai, Thailand where she first learned to cook from her mother. While living in the United States for the last twenty years, friends and family familiar with her cooking skills convinced her to open her own Thai restaurant. For the last 2 ½ years she has owned and operated the local favorite, Bangkok View in Wyoming.

Chef Steve Troupe

Born and raised on the west side of Grand Rapids, MI, Chef Steve Troupe began his culinary career in fifth grade after learning how to make pierogis from scratch in an-after school class. Since that day his life has consistently revolved around the food service industry.

A graduate of Johnson and Wales University with an A.O.S. in Culinary Arts, his most notable position was the nearly 10 years working for San Chez Bistro. While Steve was Senior Chef at San Chez, the restaurant received numerous awards from local and national publications.

“Having worked in every aspect of the food service industry from fine dining to bar food, from dishwasher to bartender, and from chef to general manager, the wealth of knowledge gained throughout my career is the basis of who I am.”

After 20+ years in the food service industry, he finally took the “plunge” into ownership and will be opening Barski Grill in Baldwin, MI. This will be a quaint 80-seat location where he can offer daily specials and purchase the freshest products available from local farmers. Barski will have live entertainment, bar games, revolving lunch and dinner menus, a full drink menu, extensive catering, and horseshoe pits off the 3 season deck. Barski will be a casual atmosphere with local artwork for purchase on the walls.

Chef Michael Whalen, C.E.C.

A veteran culinarian of the Grand Rapids area for over 35 years, Chef Whalen has worked at various locations throughout the city and metropolitan area. This includes the opening of the 1913 Room and Gibson’s Restaurant. Currently, Chef Whalen works at the award-winning international pub, the HoneyCreek Inn, of Cannonsburg. He has worked there for the past 18 years as executive chef. Chef Whalen was awarded the chef of the year in 2003, sits on the culinary advisory board of Grand Rapids Community College, and Kent Career Tech Center.

Chef Stephanie Wiles

A culinary graduate of Grand Rapids Community College, Stephanie Wiles has worked in many of the well-established businesses of Michigan. Work experience includes Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, the Grand Hotel, the JW Marriott, Blue Water Grille, even TGI Friday’s. Most recently, she has been involved in opening restaurants and catering for private parties. Her work also includes a year of learning South Korean cuisine while living in Dongducheon, and implementing a culinary awareness program for elementary school students at an after school English academy. Her passion lies in desserts and she has recently won 1st place at the regional chocolate competition held at MSU.