OUR CHEFS

Chef Charlotte has been a Chef both full and part-time since graduating from Baltimore International Culinary College (BICC) in 1997.  She is currently the Executive Chef for the 14 West Hamilton Street Club [a small private club] in Mt. Vernon.  Also, the Executive Chef for Culinary Craft Workshop, hiring & overseeing Chef Instructors, and creating curriculum.

A part-time Chef Instructor for over 11 years, at the opening of this recreational cooking school, it is her goal to make healthy, delicious, home-cooked meals more accessible, and less intimidating.  Making the kitchen a safe and approachable place.  Giving people the basic skills and knowledge to approach shopping for food, and preparing it, with knowledge, confidence, and joy.​

Her zest for food and balance is evident in both her cooking and lifestyle.  She is a mother, chef, teacher, bicyclist, journalist, and a volunteer in her community.

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.   

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 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!