Chefs and instructors at the Chef's Gallery Cooking School

Instructors at the Chef's Gallery

In Alphabetical Order:

Robin Asbell is a free-lance culinary professional and popular cooking instructor around the Twin Cities. Her many experiences in the restaurant and the natural foods industry include developing hundred of recipes as the formerHead Chef of the Wedge Deli. Currently she is a private chef, and writes articles in many publications.

Derek Bangs is a wine sales representative for Bellboy Corporation, based in St. Louis Park. After growing up and working in fine restaurants throughout the Twin Cities, he went to school in Portland, Oregon and Siena, Italy where he further developed his passion and knowledge of fine wine. He began working for boutique Pinot Noir producers in Oregon in 2002 until a job offer in 2004 landed him back in Minnesota. He has traveled through the wine regions of Oregon, Washington, California, and Italy, and has an almost unsurpassed passion and knowledge of fine wine.

Bret Bannon

is a longtime chef/teacher in the Twin Cities. His recipes have recently been published in Midwest Home and Cooking Pleasures Magazine, and he has appeared on KARE 11's Showcase Minnesota. He has apprenticed with B.T. McElrath Chocolatier, and has held positions at the Park Avenue Cafe in New York, at locally at The Local and Un Deux Trois. Bret's events can be viewed at www.bretstable.com.

Ron Bohnert is the executive chef at Stone Ridge Golf Club. He was honored as one of America's Culinary Leaders from the American Tasting Institute and received the "Chefs 2000 Award," and has received numerous awards for his creative wild game specialities.

Anthony Callies

has a passion for Italian cuisine, and is a stickler for fresh, inspirational food. He has worked for the past 10 years in some of the Twin Cities best restaurants, such as Pronto, Cia Bella, Zelo, Damico Cucina, Tiramisu, and Campiello, which have prepared him well for his current position at Luna Rossa in Stillwater.

Shelagh Connolly

, a well-traveled and talented chef, has worked in many local kitchens including Bobino and her own Mildred Pierce Café. She is currently the executive chef at Tria in North Oaks.

Jenny Elliott is a baker and owner of On Fire! Ovens baking and catering service. She is currently the president of the Crossroads Kitchen Food Producers Co-Operative and writes two weekly columns for the Dunn County News. She is an advocate of the Slow Food Movement and uses as many local organic and sustainably-grown foods as possible. Her interest in food has extended to nutrition and the promotion of personal health at all stages of life.

Larry Fischer

, CEC CCE, has been a Culinary Arts Instructor at St. Paul College since 1986. He has 37 years of professional culinary experience including country clubs and restaurants. He graduated from St. Paul TVI Culinary Arts in 1972 and is a Master Ice Carver of the St. Paul Winter Carnival.

J.D. Fratzke

has spent many years working in kitchens in the metro area. After many years at Chino Latino and Muffuletta, he has ventured to St. Paul with The Strip Club - Meat and Fish in Dayton’s Bluff.

Francis Gonzalez

is the chef of Redstone American Grill in Eden Prairie. He started out as an apprentice to the corporate chef for Houston’s restaurant, and has since worked in restaurants from Palm Beach to Greystone in Napa Valley.

Roy Goslin

is an entrepreneurial spirit with a deep appreciation and passion for food and wine. A professional business and leadership consultant, he spent his early years in business in the wine industry of South Africa. He has been cooking for more than forty years, including three years running a small restaurant in Cape Town in partnership with his eldest son. His latest venture, Z Wines USA, brings together his passion for food and wine and his international business experience.

Mark Hanson

is the chef owner of Stillwater’s popular Marx Wine Bar, which has been a hit since the moment it opened, prompting him to expand almost immediately. Previously the owner of The Harvest Inn, also in Stillwater, he attributes his culinary skills to working in New York, LA, and the Virgin Islands.

Joe Hatch-Surisook

was born in Bangkok, Thailand. He’s held restaurant positions in Chicago, St. Louis and Washington State. Locally, he’s worked for the Nicollet Island Inn and Chet’s Taverna. He currently offers in-home Thai dinners and customized events.

Jennifer Holloway graduated from, taught and helped run Tante Marie's Cooking School in San Francisco. After returning to Minnesota she spent years at Cooks of Crocus Hill in St. Paul where she was cooking school director and store manager and is now a culinary consultant and cooking teacher.

Kristin Klemetsrud has owned and operated the beautiful, Savories Bistro in downtown Stillwater for the past 12 years with husband, Jeffrey. Inspired by study abroad, she returned to work in restaurants in Seattle, Chicago and the Twin Cities. All menu concepts and recipes at Savories are developed by Kristin and Jeff.

Manfred Krug began his culinary career over 23 years ago. He is currently a chef instructor at St. Paul Technical College, teaching restaurant operations, meat fabrication, and breakfast cookery.

Chef Jim Kyndberg

Jim Kyndberg

is the chef/owner of the Bayport Cookery, which has received awards from Minnesota Monthly, Mpls./St. Paul Magazine, and City Pages readers' poll for "Best Fine Dining," "Best Destination Dining," "Best Wine List," and "Best Service." The Zagat survey also lists Bayport Cookery in its list of America's Top Restaurants for 2001.

John Michael Lerma

, is a chef and author of "Garden County-Where Everyone is Welcome to Sit at the Table," which was a nominee for cookbook of the year at the 2006 Independent Book Publishers Awards. He can also be seen on Food TV and was a winner at the 2005 and 2006 National Pie Championships. He is the director of "A Gathering in Tuscany", food and wine adventures in Italy. www.GardenCounty.info

Tim Mckee

is the executive chef and co-owner of La Belle Vie (formerly of Stillwater) and Solera in Minneapolis. A 2007 James Beard Best Chef nominee, he is one of the most recognized and respected chefs in the upper Midwest.

Charlie Means

is a passionate “foodie,” and has been a representative of numerous high-end culinary lines for over twenty years.

David Merrill

was an investment banker for 22 years, in commercial real estate redevelopment, a music teacher, and has appeared on the Prairie Home Companion! He started Merrill Foods three years ago, specializing in high end food products with A-list clients like The Chefs Gallery.

Kristin Moffitt

is a special education teacher with the St. Paul Public Schools. She has always loved to cook, and chocolate has become one of her true passions. Kristin has completed on-line chocolate courses, interned at Chocolate Celeste in St. Paul, and studied in Belgium.

John Occhiato

has worked at Pronto and The Times, and as a natural foods baker and cook at The Wedge Co-op. He completed training at The New England Culinary Institute, and is currently head chef at D’Amico Cucina in Minneapolis.

Joe Pantalion and his wife Jeanne

are creators and owners of “Rib Shack Catering,” and have won many awards with their barbecue. They produce and market their award-winning BBQ sauce called "Madd Joe's Bonafide BBQ Sauce."

Rachael Perron

is a former business executive turned award-winning chef. She is the owner and founder of Details Private Chef Services, LLC. Her exclusive in-home services provide busy professionals and active families in the Twin Cities with regularly-scheduled meal service and special event-services, including in-home culinary classes. Her professional education includes work at a restaurant and B&B outside Florence, Italy, where she honed her specialty for updated home-kitchen classics that are fresh, elegant and have complex flavor profiles, but are simple to prepare. Her new book, "Favorites", will be published in late 2008.

Theo Petron

spent many years in the Twin Cities as an executive before deciding to follow his passion for fine food and start his own personal chef service called DinnerWhere. He has appeared on local television and many food events as well as kitchens all over the metro area and the country.

Marge Porter

has more than twenty years experience in the culinary industry and a lifetime of experience in the eating industry. Her style focuses on teaching basic techniques incorporated into class themes that enable and inspire the home cook to readily pursue their own culinary passion. Marge’s education includes the New England Culinary Institute, the Culinary Institute of America, and Warren Wilson College. Her experience includes restaurants, catering, vegetable and herb horticulture, specialty food purchasing for distribution, teaching and demonstrating. She has taught classes at The Chef’s Gallery for over seven years.

Martina Priadka,

a native Minnesotan, is a sommelier and writer currently based in Hong Kong. Her training earned her a certification in wine through the Court of Master Sommeliers and led her to work with restaurants throughout Hong Kong, Shanghai, Thailand and North America. She has maintained award-winning wine lists at top restaurants around the world including awards from The Wine Spectator, Best of Award of Excellence and the Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA) Award for the "Highest Standards for Wine and Spirits." She is a frequent contributor to a variety of wine journals including her column Wine Line, featured in www.theskini.com.

Jack Reibel

is the executive chef of The Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. Formerly the executive chef of La Belle Vie in Stillwater, and former sous chef at Goodfellow’s in Minneapolis, he has cooked in Aspen for Food and Wine’s top new chefs dinner in 1992, for Mikail Gorbachev at the governor’s mansion, and at fund-raisers at the James Beard house in New York.

Kevin Ryan

has a master’s degree in gastronomy from Le Cordon Bleu, and in food science. He has owned catering and wedding cake businesses, consulted for Cook’s Illustrated, and authored “Why It Works: Insider Secrets to Great Food.” He is currently at General Mills and teaches classes as a sideline.

Rachael Rydbeck

is a graduate from Le Cordon Bleu and has been working in the food industry in the Twin Cities for the past seven years. Her passion is teaching basic cooking techniques to people who aren’t comfortable in the kitchen or looking to add some new techniques to improve their cooking skills. Rachael teaches customized in-home cooking lessons with individuals and groups. For more information, check out her blog at www.cookingwithrachael.com.

Suzanne Schilling

has been the executive chef/owner of Suzanne’s Cuisine for 30 years. She has taught both hands-on and demo classes for All-Clad at Bloomindales, adult education classes, and numerous community organizations, as well as work in recipe development.

Kathleen Schubert is owner and creator of Schubert Catering Company, now in its 11th year. She is influenced mainly from traditional American, European, and Asian flavors. Introduced to food at an early age while working at her family's restaurants, her love of food continued while living and cooking in Europe.

Erik Severinson

is sales representative for Wusthof Trident of America, Inc. Selling and servicing independent and national accounts, Erik teaches knife skills classes all across the Midwest.

Eric Schultz

has worked at the historic Lowell Inn for six years. In that time this young chef has worked his way to executive chef. He has focused on blending classic and contemporary American cuisine to pay homage to the rich history and tradition of the Lowell Inn.

Tom Skold

has been cooking professionally for 25 years. He is chef at The Harbor View Café in Pepin, WI, and when the kitchen is closed for the season, he teaches cooking classes in the Twin Cities, and provides recipe and menu development for consumer food companies. He is a graduate of Johnson & Wales College and recently earned his Food & Nutrition degree at UW Stout.

Joe Hatch Surisook

April Torzewski

is a wine industry representative for Cat and Fiddle Beverage. She has a rich background of experience, having worked with wine on the retail, winery and now the wholesale side. She leads introductory wine appreciation classes around the metro area, and is known for her dynamic and fun personality.

Jeff Woodward is one of the premier natural foods cooking teachers in the United States. For 26 years, he has presented his unique approach to creating joy and vitality through high-quality food, and has lectured at conventions, corporations, and health care clinics around the U.S. and Canada.

Terry John Zila

has been experimenting in the kitchen most of his life. Fifteen years in the restaurant industry has exposed him to a wide variety of cooking styles. In his classes, he uses that culinary knowledge to create fail-proof recipes geared to the home cook. Before moving to Los Angeles in 1998, he prepared pastries for The Highland Grill and August Moon. Now back in Minnesota, he operates johnjeanjuan, a wedding cake and special occasion dessert business. Terry is also a Master Gardener and Certified Garden Specialist at The Home Depot, a member of the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) and a regular food and entertaining contributor to KSTP AM 1500 Talk Radio.