Jim Smith
Alabama
Jim Smith is the Executive Chef at the Alabama Governor’s Mansion. As chef, he has placed an emphasis on using the best local ingredients and has made strides to encourage support of local farmers and Alabama fishermen. He uses his position as ambassador of food, to promote farmer’s markets and events that support Alabama food products. This is a critical aspect of his daily routine and is his way of supporting Governor Robert Bentley’s efforts to support Alabama food and Alabama workers. Smith is not only responsible for the daily preparation of food for the First Family, but he is also responsible for planning and preparing menus for events sponsored by the state.
His culinary style embraces traditional local ingredients and technique with a more modern elegance. Utilizing global approaches and southern style he creates unique dishes that embody a contemporary approach in cuisine.
Smith graduated culinary school at the top of his class, from Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has studied food, wine, and service under the acclaimed chefs, Chris Hastings and Frank Stitt. He was also the wine director for the “Best of Birmingham” James Beard Dinner. Most recently Smith worked as a chef for Dyron Powell at Dyron’s Lowcountry in Birmingham, Alabama.
Chef Smith continues his commitment to the art of food through experimentation and development. One day he hopes to pursue the dream of opening his own restaurant. Until then, he is thankful for the opportunity to prepare meals for the Governor and First Lady of the state of Alabama.
Erik Slater
Alaska
As executive chef for the 180-room Seward Windsong Lodge in Seward, Alaska, Erik Slater oversees food and beverage operations for the Resurrection Roadhouse Restaurant and the Goliath Bar & Grill.
Slater’s love of cooking came from his mother, who began honing his skills as soon as he could reach the top of the range. By the time he was 18, Erik Slater was a cook at the Elk Café in Spokane, Washington. A couple of years later, he worked at a small Italian café, learning old family recipes and techniques from the owners.
He later moved to the Mars Hotel as sous chef, before leaving Washington for Anchorage, Alaska, to work as head chef of Sorellas. He then moved to Napa Valley where he did fresh sheet menus paired with Napa Valley wines at the Dutch Treat Café.
In 2000, Slater moved to Seward where he was head chef at Ray’s Waterfront Restaurant before joining Seward Windsong Lodge in 2004, as executive chef.
He serves on the board of the Alaska Culinary Academy and is a substitute instructor.
He also works closely with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute helping to promote Alaska seafood and the seafood industry.
Since Seward Windsong Lodge is a seasonal facility, Slater and his family travel to various parts of Mexico and the western United States, seeking out new and interesting ideas to incorporate into his menus.
John Minas
Florida
John Minas assumed the role as Executive Chef of the Florida Governor’s Mansion in May 2011. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America, including a prestigious externship at the four-star restaurant 2941 in Falls Church, Virginia, Chef Minas is enthusiastic about food: “Passion for cooking flavorful and fresh foods is what drives young culinary enthusiasts like me every day. Cooking professionally and in our home has been an integral part of my family life since I can remember. My entire professional career has been devoted to furthering my knowledge of food, from nutritional cooking to classical methods. I owe my enthusiasm about all things culinary to my grandfather, father, and mother who are great role models for me.”
John grew up in Watertown, Massachusetts, and he has worked extensively in the northeast. He is especially excited to be living in the Sunshine State and is greatly honored to create fine dishes for the Governor and First Lady of Florida and their guests. The opportunity to represent Florida at the 2011 Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans is a highlight of his tenure at the Florida Governor’s Mansion!
Gregory G. Volle
Illinois
Raised in Springfield, IL with maternal roots in the South, Volle was exposed to cuisine and cooking techniques both North and South of the Mason/Dixon line. His Texas grandfather was not only the king of his kitchen, but an avid year round hunter and fisherman who let nothing go to waste. “Earliest memories of cooking with Papaw would be getting to shake the brown paper grocery bag of seasoned flour after he would pound out venison backstrap and soak it in buttermilk. Picking boiled turkey neck meat for Thanksgiving gravy was another trick I still use every year.”
Volle transferred to Ole Miss in Oxford, MS in 1995 when he found his first love of the restaurant industry. Working part time at the infamous Proud Larry’s, known for its live music and upscale college cuisine, Volle was enamored with the “counterculture of line cooks, bartenders and servers that are universally some of the most fun and interesting people you will ever meet.”
After another handful of blues bar and bakery positions in Oxford, Volle graduated with a Journalism degree and moved to Chicago, where he avoided a life in public relations, to land his first Sous Chef position opening the Goose Island Wrigleyville location. Heading down the street to ‘The Outpost’ for more upscale pastures, Volle decided to take his culinary career more seriously.
He graduated from the inaugural class of Johnson and Wales University Denver and interned in Charleston, SC at Blossom Café under one of the south’s most prominent chefs, Donald Barickman. With a new found interest in seafood and ‘new southern cuisine’, Volle stayed at Blossom and eventually moved over to ‘Coast’ under Exec.Chef Fred Neuville and quickly became lead line cook. Becoming eager for more creative control (and fresh powder), Volle returned to the mountains and found a home in Crested Butte, CO. He became the Chef de Cuisine at Buffalo Grille/Harry’s Fine Dining under the well traveled Chef/Owner Anthony Reichenbach. Here he fine tuned his fine dining skills and line cook sensibilities.
Coming full circle, Volle returned to Springfield, IL to become the Executive Chef at the Illinois Executive Mansion for Governor Rod Blagojevich, current Governor Pat Quinn and has hosted Arch Bishop Desmond TuTu, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Governor Jim Thompson and numerous other Senators, Representatives, Dignitaries, families and friends of the state and the nation. He is joined by Chef de Cuisine Mike Lantz. They both have been guest chefs at Ravinia in Chicago and look forward to “showcasing the unexpected bounty that the fertile state of Illinois has to offer.”
Jeremy C. Ashby
Kentucky
Local celebrity Chef Jeremy Ashby is a native of Kentucky. He received his culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina in 2000. After pursuing additional training and experience (including working with renowned chefs Donald Barickman and Norman Van Aken) in Charleston and Miami, Executive Chef Ashby returned to his Kentucky roots. He has been with AZUR since 2006 and became an owner in 2007. Executive chef Ashby also earned a degree in business and hospitality from the University of Kentucky. His culinary decisions are influenced by many things, not the least of which is passion for relationships and delighting people with food. “A meal should be about dining, not feeding. I like the aspect of friends at the table and the endless ways food becomes a common ground that ties together our lives and conversations” He is currently an ambassador to Kentucky for the growing agricultural farm to table movement and hosts the radio program “Sunny Side Up In Lexington” with co-host Sylvia Lovely. Together they promote restaurants, chefs, farmers, food and community growth in the Bluegrass region. In the future, due to the emerging agriculture, wine production and Bourbon Trail, Chef Ashby would like to see the Bluegrass become a major hospitality and food destination in the South. Chef Jeremy Ashby has also created a Farmer’s Market on the southside of Lexington. The market is quickly growing and he plans on starting other markets around the state of Kentucky. The goal is to further promote the unrivaled agricultural heritage of Kentucky farmers and to help create an ever growing and sustainable food economy in the Commonwealth.
Cory Bahr
Louisiana
I was born in Monroe, La on Sept 11 1976 when I was very young I was taken in by my Grandparents who are my greatest source of inspiration. Being from North Mississippi they were born with the knowledge of how to take advantage the bounty of the seasons. My grandfather raised me on the Mississippi river, hunting & fishing. We always looked forward to Papa returning from a trip “Down South”. This would bring Oysters, Blue Crab, Gulf shrimp & lots of neighbors to help devour them. My grandmother to this day is the best cook I know. Every time I come Home she has a new recipe to try & always my favorite pineapple cake. Her sense of creativity & use of seasonal ingredients inspires me constantly. When I was coming up culinary school was not an option but I graduated from my Grandmothers kitchen with the sense of the seasons & being taught “what was good” helped me immensely along the way. The service industry was not my plan for life but the love of serving people drew me in. It’s where I meet my wife who keeps me going & made lifelong friends.
Margaret Salt McLellan
Maine
Margaret Salt Mclellan holds the title of “Maine Lobster Chef of the Year 2008″. Chef McLellan has extensive education both abroad and at home. Her schooling began at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in London, and since she has received numerous, diplomas, certificates and degrees ranging from culinary arts clinical nutrition.
In addition McLellan is a certified Servsafe™ instructor and is Seafood HACCP certified thru Cornell. Believing that one should never stop learning, Margaret frequents the Hyde Park campus of the Culinary Institute of America. Margaret has been working as a professional chef for over 25 years, in kitchens of all sizes, cooking, coordinating events and shows, teaching and doing research. Over the last two years, she has done consulting for a number of seafood companies in Maine. Currently, Margaret is the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Chef of Morrison’s Maine Course. Morrison’s, a value added seafood manufacturing facility is a successful vendor on QVC and the Military Shopping Channel. In both 2008 and 2009, Margaret was appointed by the Governor to represent Maine in The Great American Seafood Cook Off in New Orleans, sponsored by NOAA. In 2010, she assisted her son, Chef MacKenzie Arrington in the Great American Seafood Cook Off . Maine tied with New Jersey for third place.
McLellan is also very active in the Sustainable and Local Food movements in Maine and writes for the Maine Food and Lifestyles Magazine. Raised in the industry Margaret spent summers working the deck of her father’s fishing dragger and winters, after school picking shrimp at the local processing plant. As a young girl, she learned to knit bait bags which she sold to local lobstermen. “My Dad wanted to ingrain in us, an understanding that fishing was good clean honest work boasts McLellan. From that I have developed a respect for the sea, the industry and the people who work very hard to bring it all together”. McLellan lives in her hometown of Boothbay, Maine. Her family are fishermen and lobstermen who still work the pristine waters of the Gulf of Maine. In October of 2009, Margaret’s youngest son, Mac Arrington graduated from the Bachelors program at the Culinary Institute of America and won the title of Maine Lobster Chef 2009. “Mother and son-creating a Lobster Dynasty”.
Health Johnson
Mississippi
Heath has been in the restaurant industry for fifteen years collectively having graduated to Chef d’ Cuisine at City Grocery in Oxford, MS where John Currence was willing to take him under his wing. Heath has worked in Virgina, New Orleans, and Chicago under several talented chefs. His tenure at City Grocery is the lengthiest for several reasons. Heath says, “essentially, I’ve found a refreshing open-mindedness which allows room for pork rinds, avocado sorbet, duck confit, and me.” He considers himself very lucky.
Scott Anderson
New Jersey
“Latest and greatest” are often ingredients in high end restaurant menus. In the case of Scott Anderson, the case is truer and more subtle than meets the eye at first glance.
Originally a native of the Garden State, Anderson spent part of his youth in Japan and the exposure to foreign tastes and flavors left a lasting impact. While he began his restaurant career as a way to earn extra money in high school and college, he soon realized he found his calling. “I thrive on the insanity and frenetic pace of the kitchen as well as the camaraderie.” He began as a line cook at Baystreet Grill in Edison, New Jersey. He later joined the Terra Momo restaurant group where he spent six years helping to manage the kitchen at Teresa Caffe before becoming head chef at Mediterra in Princeton, and later at Nova Terra in New Brunswick.
When the opportunity to work as a line cook with Chef Craig Shelton at Ryland Inn arose, Anderson jumped at the chance, despite a rather large pay cut. Shelton, who had trained at Bouley, introduced New Jersey diners to the tasting menu concept and the interplay between fine dining and wine. Anderson cites Shelton as “the closest thing to a mentor” and under his tutelage rose to Chef de Cuisine. In fact, he credits Ryland‟s farm to table atmosphere as one of the reasons he was so happy at Ryland. In October 2008, Anderson partnered with Steven Distler to open elements.
Relying on the seasons, the inspiration and the bounty of the farm, Chef Anderson continually improvises when creating the menu. He defines the cuisine as „Interpretative American” because “we think of our dishes as canvases and paint what feels right, while staying grounded in the essence of the ingredients.” His fascination with the earth’s natural resources continues even when out of the kitchen. An avid gardener and outdoorsman, he loves to fish and forage in the local parks for wild edibles, be they ramps or morel mushrooms. Don’t be surprised if his catch ends up on your plate!
“Opening a restaurant isn’t new. But opening a restaurant that aims to be new over and over is new,” says the smiling, engaging Chef Owner Scott Anderson, about elements, the restaurant he and Stephen Distler opened October of 2008 on Route 206 in Princeton, NJ.
The name is significant: the restaurant will draw on diverse resources, but will look at each element of its palette for direction. Local produce as well as worldwide cooking styles will influence his work. “It’s almost like you’re listening to the ingredients,” says Scott. For this reason, a meal at elements will always be an event.
True to the ingredients, and to its name, elements will feature simple-to-understand chords of flavors constantly reinterpreted. The chef wants to remain open to inspiration and the mood of the moment. A green salad with citrus would not be exactly the same twice, nor would it appear the same way every time you order it. The best analogy is that of a jazz musician who constantly riffs on melodies to keep each experience fresh. Instead, true to the ingredients, and to its name, elements will feature simple-to-understand chords of flavors constantly reinterpreted.
We call it “Interpretative American Cuisine,” because we think of our dishes as canvases and paint what feels right, while staying grounded in the essence of the ingredients. The Chef is giving similar creative latitude to the team in the kitchen.
Bud Gruniger
North Carolina
Chef Bud Gruniger serves as executive chef at Basnights Lone Cedar café. At Basnights café, Gruniger focuses on using as much local product as possible including 100% local seafood. Working with the owners, North Caroline state senator, Mark Basnight and his daughters’ Vicki and Caroline Basnight, they strive to serve the best that costal Carolina has to offer.
Gruniger’s more recent accomplishments-winner of 4 March of Dime seafood chef competitions. He is also a part of a project to brand Outer Banks seafood called Outer Banks Catch. This project was started to help a dying local family industry and to educate the public about the quality difference between imported and local seafood . Outer Banks Catch.com. Basnights is the only Outer Banks restaurant to utilize 100% local seafood.
Gruniger’s biggest accomplishments are his family wife, Sarah, son, Cole, 13, and daughter, Katie, 11. Gruniger was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and reared in Long Beach Island N.J. A graduate from Shawnee High school Medford N.J., Gruniger begain cooking at age 13 in a family business. He is a graduate of C.I.A. Culinary Institute of America (1981).
While attending the C.I.A. Gruniger won 1st place for student competition at the New York city food show and won 3rd place at Delaware Valley Chef’s Assoc food show. He learned many types of cuisine working in New York, Philaelphia, PA. Portland, Oregon and Boulder Colorado.
Erol Kanmaz
Oregon
Chef Erol Kanmaz was born and raised in small agricultural village in Southeast Turkey. Growing up in a village that centered on farming, he quickly learned the value of farm-fresh food. His childhood dream was to be a professional soccer player; however, his mother told him, “you eat too much – you should be working in a kitchen.” Thus began the start of his culinary career.
Chef Kanmaz attended the government-sponsored Hospitality and Tourism Management Vocational school on the Mediterranean Coast. He then studied economics for two years at Anatolian University. He began working for Inter Hotels Corp., in Istanbul where he got his first kitchen job as a dishwasher and prep cook at the prestigious French-influenced Restaurant La Maison. Chef Kanmaz worked his way up to Lead Chef. He continued to work at Inter Hotels along the Mediterranean Coastal for 12 years. It is here where he met his future wife Jill, who is a native of Portland, Oregon.
The Kanmaz family moved to Zigzag, Oregon, one of the villages of Mt. Hood, in 2002. He began working at Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark, as a line chef. Chef Kanmaz quickly learned what Oregon’s rich, fresh foods had to offer and further developed is culinary skills and techniques.
He is currently working as a Sous Chef at the award-winning Cascade Dining Room, ender the direction of Timberline Lodge Executive Chef Jason Stoller Smith. Chef Smith is one of the pioneers of fresh- and seasonal- farm- to-table Oregon New Cuisine.
Corbett Rourk
South Carolina
Born in Charleston, South Carolina, I fell in love and discovered my passion for cooking at a young age. While still in school I began working in the culinary arts under Mike Papus, who once worked for Aristotle Onassis and family. After a few years, Mike sent me to work for other chefs to inspire and cultivate my skills. After high school I moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina and stayed for several years, followed by a move to Willington, North Carolina where I became a sous chef at Landfall Country Club for three years. My next move sent me to Lewisberg, West Virginia where, after a year, I was accepted as an apprentice. The program was under the leadership of Rod Stoner, Food and Beverage Director, and Peter Timmins CMC. After completion, I moved back to Hilton Head and earned the position as executive chef at a small golf and country club. Two years in, I was offered a position at the Landing’s Club in Savanna, Georgia. With three more years of experience acquired, I took my current position as the executive chef at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where I have worked for five years. I have enjoyed many challenges and rewards over my career and look forward to all that this wonderful culinary world has to offer.
Ed Fischer
West Virginia
Ed was born and raised on a dairy farm in Ft Scott, KS. He was very active in 4-H and FFA. He was selected as the Kansas FFA Star Dairy Farmer in 1974. He received his Associated of Arts degree from Fort Scott Community College in 1976. He began his sales career as a feed supplement salesman for MoorMan Mfg. Co that same year.
Ed spent several years as a Wine Consultant for Pieroth Brothers and Vintage Wines International. He earned his Master Sommelier certification in 1985 from the Gevrey Chambertin in Burgundy, France. Ed graduated from University of Illinois in 1996 with Bachelor of Science Degrees in Finance and Business Administration.
Ed spent 20 years in telecommunication technical sales for GTE, Verizon, and most recently managed the Government and Education Business Units in the Mid-Atlantic States for Qwest Communications. While at GTE, he managed the corporate partner relationship with the NCAA, and was instrumental in the relocation of the NCAA Headquarters from Kansas City to Indianapolis. Ed currently serves as the Grant County Executive Administrator and the Grant County Development Authority Executive Director.
Ed and his wife Carol purchased the North Fork Mountain Inn in August, 2006 and moved to West Virginia. This is the perfect venue for Ed to pursue his food and wine passions. In July 2009, shortly after accepting his current job with the Development Authority, he represented West Virginia in the Great American Seafood Cook Off. Their Inn was featured twice in 2009 in the Washingtonian as one of the Top Summer and Fall Getaways and in 2010 on their website as one of the Best Food and Wine Destinations in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Their recipes are featured in the current issue of “Around the Panhandle” magazine. Ed will once again represent West Virginia in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off August 5-8 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Ed’s greatest passion is serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Christian Leaders for Africa. This Indianapolis based organization is the exclusive USA fundraising group for African International University (AIU). Ed was recently appointed to serve on the Governing Council for AIU.
