OUR CHEFS

Senior Chef Instructor Nate is a food professional and the coolest nerd you'll ever know. He has been with CCW since our launch, and oversees much of our day to day culinary operations. He was born and raised in Baltimore County. Not too long after high school he moved to Northern California, attending Art school and culinary school in Sa

Senior Chef Instructor Nate is a food professional and the coolest nerd you'll ever know. He has been with CCW since our launch, and oversees much of our day to day culinary operations. He was born and raised in Baltimore County. Not too long after high school he moved to Northern California, attending Art school and culinary school in San Francisco. Following his completion of school, he stayed in the Bay Area. Falling in love with butchery, He worked as a butcher for several years. Wanting to round out his culinary skills, he worked as a bartender, fried chicken chef and many other food related jobs. Later in his culinary journey he began working for Seaglass Management at the Exploratorium Museum. Working his way up to one of the head chefs. The Museum offered him an experience to flex his culinary creativity, and dive deeper into Asian cuisines, learning Sushi, Ramen and more. After 14 years on the west coast he decided to return home to Baltimore. Shortly after returning to Maryland, Chef Nate began teaching recreational cooking to eager students. First at a small cooking school in Baltimore City, then moving on to teach classes at the Culinary Craft Workshop. Chef Nate is a highly versatile chef! You’ll find him teaching many different classes, such as the BBQ Workshop, Knife Skills class, and many of the Asian-centric classes. Join Chef Nate for a great time, laughing AND learning!  You can follow his culinary adventures on Instagram at: @natecooksall

Senior Chef Instructor 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

Senior Chef Instructor 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. His skill as an instructor and incredible database of food and cooking knowledge led the owners to promote Pat to his position as Senior Chef at CCW! 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 Instructor at the Culinary Craft Workshop, Dan brings over 25 years of experience in the food industry. His extensive career includes a decade leading Mokomandy in Sterling, Virginia, celebrated for its unique Korean-Cajun fusion. A Maryland native, Dan trained at the Culinary Institute of America and contributed as a teaching assist

Chef Instructor at the Culinary Craft Workshop, Dan brings over 25 years of experience in the food industry. His extensive career includes a decade leading Mokomandy in Sterling, Virginia, celebrated for its unique Korean-Cajun fusion. A Maryland native, Dan trained at the Culinary Institute of America and contributed as a teaching assistant at the CIA’s Rudd Center for Enology and Greystone Research and Development Kitchen. He holds a sommelier certification from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust and a certification in flavor dynamics from the North American Sommelier Association. Dan also earned an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.

Currently, he operates as a chef and consultant via Bespoke Catering LLC, which specializes in foraged and farmed-to-plate value-added food and beverage products for private events, farms, food businesses, and food manufacturers. 

At the Culinary Craft Workshop, Chef Dan leverages his deep expertise and appreciation for quality ingredients, focusing on innovative and sustainable culinary practices.

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 recei

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 A

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 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 W

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.