Culinary Communion: Guest Chef Roster

	Gabriel: Cook with love. Eat with passion.
—Andrew Dornenburg, author of Culinary Artistry

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	Guest Chef Roster Culinary Communion is all about excellent culinary education in an intimate fun environment. There are many incredibly talented chefs in the Seattle area (and beyond) who epitomize that philosophy. We like instructors who are educational without talking down to the class; knowledgeable without being pretentious; fun; and funny. In short, they "get it." We are happy to welcome them as adjunct instructors. About the CC Team of Guest Chef-Instructors Guest Chef-Instructor Dana Bickford Dana Bickford started her professional culinary journey in 2001 studying in The Seattle Art Institutes culinary program followed by the baking and pastry program. From there she began a one on one apprenticeship at Seattle's Lampreia under the master of minimalism, Scott Carsberg, eventually working her way up to second in command. From Lampreia, Dana traveled to the village of Bray, England to study at the Michelin 3 starred restaurant, "The Fat Duck". At the Fat Duck she spent two months as a stagiere, absorbing Heston Blumentals amazing cuisine, cutting edge molecular gastronomy, and a thought process that analized the entire experience of taste rather than just flavor. Upon return to Seattle, Dana began her first pastry chef position at Eva restaurant near Greenlake. Here she is begining to make her mark utilizing the restaurant's strong belief in organic and locally produced products and high level of creativity. Guest Chef-Instructor Dan Mikoz Dan says: "As long as I can remember, I've had two passions in my life: food and art. I can remember being obsessed with drawing. I'd sit for hours doing nothing else. Or I would be poring over my father's "The Good Cook" collection, learning about bearnaise sauce on a Friday night. So, what did I do after high school? Went to college and studied finance and economics. Afterwards, I spent about 4 1/2 years in the trading pits on the floor of the Chicago Options Exchange. You could say I was an "Apprentice" down there. (And yes, I did attend a sales pitch meeting from "The Donald" while I was there. Very few people in attendance; he wasn't as popular then as he is now). Years later, I found myself in the Pacific Northwest trying to figure out what I wanted to do for work. Finance wasn't cutting it, so I thought about what made me happy as a child. Not what I thought I should be doing. Not what "sounded" good. And then I remembered my love of art and food. It just knd of "clicked." One thing led to another, and I went to South Seattle Community College to get a certificate in Baking and Pastry. I began working for a pastry chef, Pierre Fauvet, at Parisian Star Desserts. I've made desserts for the Seattle Marriot, Grand Hyatt, and Teatro Zinzani, just to name a few. I also make wedding cakes and other custom cakes through Starry Nights in Kirkland. Going on my 6th year in the business, I've had the privilege to be asked to make some really special cakes and to teach classes in decorating. I'm loving it even more than when I started." Guest Chef-Instructor Ethan Stowell A self-trained natural in the kitchen, Ethan Stowell creates exquisite daily menus inspired by family traditions and fresh, unique ingredients at Union, located in downtown Seattle, just steps from the city’s world famous Pike Place Market. Stowell is chef and co-owner of Union, which opened in October of 2003 and has received accolades from many publications including Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, Seattle Magazine, Wine Spectator, and Gourmet. Union also was named one of “The 21 Best New Restaurants in the USA,” by John Mariani for his annual article in Esquire magazine. Things show no signs of slowing down for Stowell who began 2005 with both the honor of cooking dinner at the prestigious James Beard House in New York and being named the “Chef To Watch” in Seattle Magazines annual restaurant issue. This young, hot chef is well on his way to fame. Stowell has worked with Seattle chefs Philip Mihalski of Nell’s Restaurant, Tim Kelley of the Painted Table, and his long time mentor, Joe McDonnal of The Ruins, as well as Guenter Seeger of Seeger’s in Atlanta. While cherishing his time cooking alongside some of the industry’s best, Stowell traces his passion and creativity with cuisine back to the family kitchen, where every night was a culinary experiment of blending traditional dishes with contemporary ingredients and preparation. An avid reader, Stowell keeps a library of over 600 cookbooks, which he has voraciously read and collected over his life. For many years, Stowell hosted private dinner parties where he blended cooking and teaching that has made him one of Seattle’s most requested chefs. Guest Chef-Instructor Scott Samuel Scott Samuel, formerly the Sous Chef at The Herbfarm, and now working as Chef Instructor for Fine Dining at Seattle Culinary Academy, has been in the restaurant industry for over 20 years. He was the original Chef for Brie & Bordeaux, a combination wine & cheese shop as well as an open-kitchen, 30-seat bistro, which opened in April 1996 in Wallingford, Seattle. The menus at Brie & Bordeaux were small but innovative, focused on the best of the season. Scott’s menus reflect a commitment to local farmers and seasonal harvests. His style combines the Northwest bounty, classic French technique and an adventurous spirit. In the fall of 1998, Scott was a nominated by the James Beard Foundation as ‘Rising Chef of the Year’. A graduate of Washington State University ’s Hotel/Restaurant Administration Program, Scott’s intention to become a chef began as a teenager. His experience includes an apprenticeship in 1991 at Gerard’s Relais de Lyon in Seattle , under Chef Christophe DeGouix. Other employment includes catering and working in the bistro at The Ruins, a private dining club; Café Juanita working as Sous Chef and catering various events; and working as a Private Chef on a yacht touring southeast Alaska. In August of 1998, Scott completed a six-week apprenticeship at The French Laundry in Napa Valley with Chef Thomas Keller. Scott was drawn by Keller’s vision and insistence on perfection and returned to Brie & Bordeaux reinvigorated and inspired. Scott left Brie & Bordeaux in 1999 to fulfill a Chef position at Gerard’s Restaurant on Maui . He returned to Seattle in 2000 to help open Waterfront Seafood Grill as Executive Sous Chef then a year later, accepted the position as Sous Chef at The Herbfarm and helped re-open this renowned restaurant in Woodinville , Washington . Scott has also been teaching cooking classes in the Seattle area for the past ten years and focuses on creating seasonal menus that are simple but elegant. Scott now divides his time between teaching at Seattle Culinary Academy and Simply Brilliant, his company that specializes in hands-on Private Cooking Classes in clients’ homes. Guest Chef-Instructor Kären Jurgensen Chef Kären Jurgensen was the Executive Chef of Baci Catering for eight years, and her innovative and well-known culinary excellence helped Baci to become one of Seattle's leading caterers. Kären was raised in rural Eastern Washington and first began cooking with her grandmother, from whom she learned the connection of food to the land. Kären and her grandmother would spend hours looking for precisely the right rock to make "Stone Soup," and used to walk along railroad tracks, gathering wheat. Grinding this into flour and using it to make bread gave Kären her first taste of this connection and taught her how to make food an adventure. At home the Jurgensens raised animals, made preserves of all kinds, and often incorporated wild game into the family meals. Kären has a very wide range of culinary experience, having spent six years traveling throughout Europe and South America and having worked in a variety of restaurants, as a personal chef, and in the catering world. At Baci she worked to take catering to a higher level with hot, good food. "No one should be afraid of food; it's all about the love that you put into it," Kären says. She feels that Culinary Communion gives her the opportunity to teach that concept and put in that love. Guest Chef-Instructor Sue McCown Sue McCown fast-talked her way into her very first restaurant job in Switzerland sparked by a desire to spend the winter skiing the Alps. Even with a total lack of kitchen experience, she was able to land a job as a prep cook / dishwasher at the Leysin Resort. Hooked by the creativity, intensity and passion of the resort's kitchen. Sue returned home to San Francisco and enrolled in the California Culinary Academy. Graduating with honors in 1990, Sue moved to the Pacific Northwest and accepted a line cook position at Campagne, one of Seattle's finest restaurants. After only a few short months, she was asked by the owner to assume the pastry chef position. With only her recent pastry and baking courses at culinary school to rely on, Sue threw herself into this challenge with abandon and a determination to succeed. Teaching herslf pastry and baking skills as she went and learning from her mistakes, what began as a chance flirtation, blossomed into a full-fledged love affair and an exciting career. Leaving Campagne in 1993, Sue moved onto the Painted Table at the Alexis Hotel. Sue continued to impress Seattle in 1995 with her pastry creations and wedding cakes at the Sorrento Hotel and later at Wolfgang's Puck's ObaChine where her Sweet Dim Sum for Two became a signature dish. In 1997, Sue was part of the opening team at the hot Pampas Club, in ultra-swank, cabaret-style supper club in hip Belltown. As the W Seattle's Executive Pastry Chef, Sue tempts and delights the guests at Earth & Ocean with such capricious winners as www.chocolate.com. Cherry Crackle Pop and Pie the Way it Should Be. Guest Chef-Instructor Becky Selengut Becky Selengut is a graduate of William Smith College and the Seattle Culinary Academy where she was awarded the Outstanding Culinarian of the Year. Selengut has worked on two PBS cooking shows, Home Cooking with Amy Coleman and Cucina Amore. From 1999 to 2001, she was a chef-instructor at Seattle Central Community College where she taught cooking to immigrants and refugees and found them work in the food industry. Selengut has had stints at La Medusa and La Spiga; spent three years at the nationally acclaimed restaurant The Herbfarm in Woodinville, and currently teaches cooking for PCC Natural Markets. In 2004 she started her own business, Cornucopia, and in January 2006 she launched Seasonal Cornucopia, an online database of seasonality, recently written up in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Guest Chef-Instructor Chris Lueck "The main reason I got into cooking was because I was tired of eating Hamburger Helper and Chinese Take-Out as a kid. I grew up in my aunt's house and she had enough on her plate trying to raise 6 kids, so you can imagine how much effort was devoted to that night's dinner. While in high school I took Home Economics and though I still cannot sew on a button I did find that I had a natural ability and an affinity for food. My mom was from Japan and was a terrific cook and while visiting her on the weekends we always went out for dinner, mostly to Japanese restaurants or she would cook. I began to cook dinner at home and found I really liked it, not to mention that we were now eating exciting entrees like Meatloaf and Whole Roasted Chickens. When I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1983, I was fortunate enough to be on the leading edge of the California culinary boom. It was a very exciting time to be in the kitchen as now American chefs were beginning to stretch their wings and fly on their own. What influenced me most was that they all had the same dedication to make the very best food by using only what was available locally and in season. I learned that anyone should be able to make scallops and foie gras taste great, but it is the test of a real chef to make ordinary products shine and stand out. I was fortunate enough to land a Commis job at a small French bistro in San Francisco prior to the CIA that helped me to understand just what it would take to survive and blossom in this business. From there I have dedicated the last 25 years to this pursuit and have been lucky enough to work with chefs like Christian Iver of Forneau's Ovens in San Francisco, Monique Sisch of Del Baffo and Monique's Auberge Francaise in Palo Alto, Hiro Sone of Restaurant Terra in St. Helena, and Jan Birbaum of Catahoula and Sazerac. Local influences have also led me to the Rainier Club under Bill Morris and his style of Northwest cuisine and then to Whole Foods Market where I ran their i- store cooking school, Salud. My philosophy on food is to do what you like to do and not be influenced by current trends or the latest hottest products. Trust your training and what your gut tells you is right and you won't fail. Be true and honest with the seasonal products and not overwhelm their distinctive natural flavors, but coax them out. And finally I truly believe that a chef/restaurant should let their food /service speak for themselves. I don't believe in self promotion. I always remember where I started out and know that in the end it's only food and I'm just a cook." Guest Chef-Instructor Hope Sandler When we met Chef Hope Sandler, we knew she was a perfect fit for Culinary Communion! Warm and engaging, Hope brings a wealth of culinary experience to her classes. She has toured throughout the United States and Canada, teaching fundamental culinary technique and fine cuisine for the home cook. As menu and recipe consultant, and product development chef, she has worked with restaurants, food companies, and individuals with specific dietary requirements. Chef Sandler was the director of The Seattle Culinary Arts School for Home Chefs, and the chef de cuisine at Seattle’s own Sandler & Company Catering. Her many classes, radio shows, books and freelance articles in popular publications continue to delight food enthusiasts nationwide. Chef Sandler’s latest book is Contemporary Salads, The Art of Delectable Salad Composition. Guest Chef-Instructor Iole Aguero Iole Aguero was born and raised in Southern Italy where she learned the art of fine Italian Cooking from her Mom and relatives. After more than 25 years of refining her skills, she now teaches at several Seattle-area cooking schools. She has expanded her passion for cooking to include dinner parties, private cooking classes, and cooking tours to Italy. Iole teaches locally for Sur La Table and travels to teach for them in Calif., Texas, and Utah. Iole also teaches for several Community Colleges (Seattle Central College and Bellevue Community College), all the PCC Store locations in Washington, and teaches for the Blue Ribbon Cooking School as well as Culinary Communion. Iole has also been featured in a Northwest Palate article about chefs that are teaching in the Pacific Northwest and in the Seattle Times Pacific Magazine and Seattle Magazine. Check out our Core Faculty!