OUR CHEFS

Chef Pat grew up in Baltimore county, Maryland and began working in the food industry in 2001.  He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York in 2006, and moved to Paso Robles, California to work as a harvest intern at a local winery.  In 2008, he received a certificate in Brewing Science and Technology from the Doemens Academy in Munich, Germany and worked as a professional brewer for several years in and around Baltimore before returning to the restaurant scene. Pat started teaching cooking classes in 2019 and hasn't looked back. He likes to pack his classes with food science and fun facts about your everyday interaction with food. Outside of the classroom, he loves camping and the outdoors and you can often find him in the woods foraging for edible plants and mushrooms.  In the summer, he helps maintain a large garden plot and enjoys canning and preserving the produce he gets from it. If you want to reach out to Chef Pat with any questions or comments he's on Instagram:

@Fun_Facts_With_Pat

Chef Matthew Milani, a Catonsville resident, is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Program.  He holds degrees in Culinary Arts, Pastry Arts, and Hotel & Restaurant Management in addition to a Sommelier.    Prior to graduation from culinary school, Chef Matthew completed externships under Louisiana Super Chef Paul Prudhomme and at the White House during President Bill Clinton’s presidency.    His professional experience includes time in the front and back of the house at four of the Foreman/Wolf restaurants, as well opening over fifty units across the country for multiple national and independent restaurant groups.   Chef Matthew was the owner and Executive Chef at his own restaurant, The Rumor Mill Fusion Bar & Restaurant, in Historic Ellicott City-focusing on global small plates & fusion beverages for the ten years prior to the catastrophic flood which removed the building.  In addition to being the lead culinary judge of Maryland Prostart, he is active in the American Culinary Foundation and likes to nurture and mentor younger chefs.   He was named Maryland’s Restaurateur of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Maryland in 2012.   

Born in Tampa, Florida into a family who is all about food, Dayna started cooking with her Sicilian grandma at the age of 13.  While her passion for food was ignited in her grandma’s kitchen, her real love for baking and pastry was formed at the Culinary Institute of America, where she received classical training as a pastry chef.  After a stint in an artisan bread bakery in Manhattan followed by working in the industry in both restaurants and catering, Dayna began teaching culinary arts as a chef instructor for Maryland Public Schools in both Baltimore and Howard Counties, where she worked for 12 years. Dayna loves being able to share culinary and baking and pastry arts knowledge to students of all ages in an accessible, relaxed atmosphere, which is why teaching at Culinary Craft Workshop is a perfect fit for her!  Whether explaining to students why they “need to knead” or conducting a hands-on workshop on piping, you can find her in the kitchen at CCW teaching our baking and pastry classes.      

Chef Lauren’s love of baking started in her grandmother’s kitchen as a child. Her grandmother taught her how to make a jello mold and that sparked her fondness for baking treats for friends and family!  Lauren graduated from the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone from their Baking and Pastry Certificate program in 2010 after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Restaurant Management from University of Delaware.  A Catonsville native, Lauren moved back home to her hometown and worked in local bakeries such as Atwater’s, Charm City Cakes, where she worked with the "Ace of Cakes" Duff Goldman and at La Cakerie, where she was featured on an episode of Cake Wars and Cake Hunters. Cake and cupcake decorating are her passion and she loves baking special occasion and wedding cakes.  She is really excited to teach baking classes at the Culinary Craft Workshop and can’t wait to share her baking knowledge with you!

Chef Angela was born here in Baltimore, Maryland. The first thing she ever learned to cook was french toast at the age of 5. She went to Elizabethtown College for a degree in theater, and started making themed cupcakes for every theatrical show. This gave her the bright idea after graduation that the best course of action was to move to Australia and become a pastry chef. Which she did. She attended Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, Australia and earned a Grande Diploma de Cuisine et Patisserie making her both a French Chef and Pastry Chef, only with an Australian accent to her knife work.  
After working in fine dining restaurants in Canberra, Australia, Angela moved back to Baltimore and worked for a variety of establishments including The Lord Baltimore Hotel, The Source by Wolfgang Puck, and currently Corcoran Caterers as their executive pastry chef. You can find Angela at the Culinary Craft Workshop sharing her obsession with Macarons as well as other baked treats and maybe occasionally dusting off the Cuisine part of that diploma.  

Chef Ian received his culinary degree from Johnson & Wales in Charleston, SC. While pursuing a history degree, he took a trip to New Orleans and fell in love with food.  He decided his true passion was cooking.  While living, working and attending culinary school in Charleston he cooked at a variety of restaurants including Anson, Charleston Place Hotel and Kiawah Island Resort.  He graduated Summa Cum Laude and interned at the Tabard Inn in Washington D.C.  Ian later transformed his family’s restaurant into a Scottish Gastro Pub.  He specialized in Northern European braises and comfort foods paired with a Single Malt collection of over a hundred varieties.  Following the birth of his second daughter he sold the restaurant to be a stay-at-home father.  He re-entered the culinary world as a cooking coach for Whole Foods Market, as well as working as Chef at restaurants and institutions in D.C.; most prominently at Cork Wine Bar and Sidwell Friends School.    Through Ian’s culinary journey he always found joy in teaching those around him and learning from others.  He brings that joy of teaching to the Culinary Craft Workshop.  He loves cooking over an open fire and teaching technique, braises, breads, pastas, southern, Cajun and creole cooking. 

Chef Steve grew up in Harford County, starting his culinary journey at age 13, washing dishes in his aunt and uncle's luncheonette at the Jersey Shore, eventually working nights at various seafood restaurants, moving through all the positions in the kitchen.  While attending college and working in a restaurant, a chef there introduced him to a lot of new flavors and techniques and encouraged him to pursue culinary school after graduation.  Steve attended Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, SC.  After graduation, he honed his skills working with several very talented chefs in Charleston.  Upon returning to Baltimore, he landed at The Brewer's Art, in Mount Vernon, before moving into the position of Executive Chef at Maggie Moore's Irish Pub, before moving onto the Waterfront Hotel in Historic Fells Point. In 2016, Chef Steve finally went out on his own, launching a food truck, El Gringo Baltimore, selling tacos and arepas across the greater Baltimore area, making a big splash, which him both local and national attention. This included being named the “Best Tacos in Maryland” and “Top 50 in the US” by Orbitz Travel, as well as “Best Breakfast Sandwich in America” by Restaurant Hospitality Magazine for his Buenas Dias Arepa.  Chef Steve is very excited to be a part of the team here at CCW and is looking forward to passing on some knowledge, technique and having some fun.

Chef Rhonda grew up in New York, and her passion for the culinary arts and the hospitality industry began when she was just 13 years old and spent a summer bussing tables in a family friend’s Greek diner in New York. From there, her passion continued to grow as she attended a vocational commercial foods program during high school and then went on to graduate from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island with a degree in Culinary Arts and Foodservice Management. She spent the early years of her career in contract foodservice management and healthcare foodservice management.  She was bitten by the teaching bug over two decades ago and decided to combine her love of training employees and her passion for youth mentoring by becoming certified as a Culinary Arts and Hospitality Educator at the secondary level. The majority of her career has been spent teaching culinary arts to young people at the high school level. Most recently she spent twelve years as a culinary arts instructor and a hotel & restaurant management instructor in the Howard County Public School system.  She has also taught at the middle school level, as well as the college level. Although she loves to cook, baking brings her the most joy and she looks forward to passing on both her love of cooking and baking to the students at CCW!

Chef Laura, a Baltimore county native, has been drawn to the kitchen from a very young age. She has been working in the culinary industry since 2002. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, she moved to New York City to work in one of Daniel Boulud’s newest restaurants, as well as being a private chef for a prominent New York City family. Laura then moved to Washington, D.C. to work in the banquet kitchen of the Ritz-Carlton. She moved back to New York a few years later to work as a chef & recipe developer for a television personality. She has close to a decade of experience developing recipes for two high-end food markets. She also owned her own dessert catering company, which was featured on The Cooking Channel. A self-proclaimed “health nut”, Laura loves a wide variety of cuisines, but she is particularly passionate about plant-based and gluten-free cooking. She also loves showcasing the beauty of food, which she does when she’s food styling. Her food styling portfolio can be found on instagram @livecookstyle. Laura is excited to be a part of CCW and share her knowledge and expertise with anyone interested in learning more about food.