Adam Tanner

Adam Tanner, executive chef of the St. Regis Aspen Resort, began his career in cuisine more than a decade ago. His love affair with food began during his childhood in Michigan, where his father was a chef.

“Since my father is a chef, it seems like I have been a part of restaurants my entire life. My dad is my main inspiration and has always been ‘my chef’,” says Tanner.

Tanner earned his degree in culinary management at GRCC in 2001. After school, he trained under chefs at three Michelin-rated restaurants in London, including three star Michelin Chef Nico Ladenis at the famed Chez Nico at 90 Park Lane. Tanner continued his training through various stagiarire positions in Chicago including with famed Chicago Chef Rick Tramonto at the five-star Tru restaurant, and molecular gastronomist Graham Elliot Bowles.

Before joining the St. Regis Aspen Resort, Chef Tanner worked at in-vogue restaurants in Chicago and London, in addition to working as tournant chef at The Peninsula Hotel Chicago and chef de partie at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, both five-star, five-diamond properties. Chef Tanner also had a stint in Chicago as executive chef of acqualina restaurant in which he garnered local awards and exposure from magazines and newspapers; including the New York Times, Chicago Magazine, and Food and Wine Magazine.

Tanner took over as executive chef at the St. Regis Aspen Resort in June 2008. His way of
Thinking about food is simple. “My philosophy on cooking has always been about precision, consistency, and restraint. Food should not overwhelm the guest. It needs to flow, be somewhat playful, and be as seasonal and local as possible. And a great meal should always end on a fantastic sweet note!”

In addition to in-restaurant dining, the St. Regis Aspen Resort’s on-location catering services provide the hghest-quality food and drink for private functions of all sizes, creating specific menus to cater to guests’ every need. The hotel works with both on- and off-site venues to create unique memories in the Aspen area. The St. Regis Aspen Resort occupies one of the world’s best addresses at the base of Aspen Mountain and it’s guests receive an unmatched experience in a town famous for bliss.

His hobbies and interests include barbequing, cookbook and menu collecting, and keeping up with his favorite Detroit sports teams. Over the years Chef Tanner has also accumulated numerous cooking awards through the American Culinary Federation professional cooking salons. Chef Tanner has been awarded numerous gold, silver and bronze medals for his culinary skills.

Josh loved his training at GRCC. He credits his Secchia Institute faculty with instilling discipline, culinary skills/knowledge, how to market yourself, teamwork and non culinary skills like writing, business and computer skills. The faculty also proved how important networking is, and showed how versatile a culinary degree can be in the hospitality industry and others.

Josh currently works as a Sous Chef at Thousand Oaks Country Club, which is undergoing a huge expansion to add an additional 400-seat banquet facility. In his role at the club he plans and executes seasonal restaurant and banquet menus, weekly and monthly specials, monitors inventory, achieves food cost goals, develops prep/inventory/cleaning sheets and systems, assists in front-of-house promotions, provides mentorship and training to front-of-house and back-of-house employees and works directly with customers to coordinate special events.

Josh’s advice for students in the program: ‘Be prepared to work like crazy when you get out of school. There are jobs available in the current economy, but you need to prepare yourself to be worked 60-70 hours per week, holidays, and weekends. Surround yourself with as many good people as you can in school, outside of school, and anybody linked to the hospitality industry. These are the people that will become your peers, colleagues, friends, competitors, and networking sources when you enter the professional world. Take an internship at a quality establishment that is going to test your comfort level and make you think outside of the box and teach you great things. Push yourself to continue learning outside of the classroom by reading business books, non-food books, cookbooks, magazines, tasting new foods, go out to eat and observe more than the food (the menu set-up, restaurant set-up, the service staff, etc.). Pick an avenue within the culinary/hospitality industry and focus on that, whether it’s pastries, hot food, cakes, food science, or event planning. Pick one that interests you, set goals for yourself, and go out and do it. Some of the best advice I received about becoming a chef was to always cover your butt, TASTE, TASTE, TASTE and that cooking the food is the easy part, and even though you might lose touch with some old friends, they’ll never go away. The new relationships you build within this industry are some of the strongest you could ask for.”

I have one more year left at Thousand Oaks and then it’s on to something different, either at the same company or at a different one. As much as I love to cook, I love interacting with people and I want to build on those skills to help me grow in my career.

Brandi Beckner

GRCC prepared Brandi in the classroom, as well as through her opportunity to work as a student employee. Her classes taught her the fundamentals of food preparation, basic kitchen function, and restaurant operation. She is now able to utilize that training by not only knowing the product itself, but being familiar with the applications and techniques that will then be applied by the chefs once the product is in the kitchen, and finally on the guests’ plate. It also allows her react more quickly if specified products are unavailable by knowing appropriate substitutions or alternatives. The program provided Brandi with knowledge of kitchen and food terminology that adds ease to her communication on a daily basis.

Her work as a student employee in the SICE Storeroom provided Brandi with hands-on daily coaching on the proper receiving and storing procedures of food and non-food items. She was familiarized with the invoicing and billing processes, as well as knowledge of inventory cycles and the importance of accurate numbers in all aspects of storeroom operation. She was trained on how to react to complications quickly, and without panic. In Brandi’s own words, “I left GRCC with a well rounded education of food, purchasing, and an overview of the hospitality industry in general.”

Brandi’s advice for students in the program: “Take advantage of the time you have in school. You will not realize how fast it goes until it’s gone. This program offers a multitude of opportunities outside of class time. Everything from setting up and serving at a fundraising event, to working a night in the dish room gives you invaluable experience, as well as a chance to try your hand in different areas of the kitchen, restaurant, or event that you may have otherwise not been trained on. It will also provide you with face to face interaction with many different industry professionals. All of this will make you a more rounded student, and eventually a more valuable employee. You will never regret being involved, but you MAY regret never being involved.”

Next, Brandi would like to continue her development as a purchasing professional. She is constantly researching new products and vendors and due to the global theme of the “six.one.six” restaurant, and the JW Grand Rapids as a whole, she is provided with an outlet for new, interesting and exotic ingredients, while at the same time being able to utilize the variety of local vendors. Marriott International is steadily opening hundreds of new properties each year. The JW Brand offers the highest level of luxury within Marriott. There are currently 38 JW properties worldwide in locations such as London, England, Hong Kong, China and Cairo, Egypt. This allows Brandi the opportunity for growth, not only within her current position, but among the variety of properties spread globally.

Daniel Wilson

Daniel Wilson was a study in immersion.

When he joined the student body at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education he “could not get enough.” He quickly and totally immersed himself in the formal and informal activities of the Institute. And his commitment paid off. Big time.

Daniel returned to his native Australia and was promoted to Chef in Charge of a large fine dining complex named Arinji. After several years at the helm and being named, “Hottest New Chef in Melbourne,” Daniel moved to his current position as Executive Chef of a 60 seat fine dining restaurant cooking modern Australian cuisine. He and his staff take inspiration from all corners of the globe.

When asked, in hindsight, what was valued about his training and education at the SICE, Daniel replied that the depth and breadth of the skills taught, the excellent facilities and equipment and the knowledge of the faculty, were second to none. He recalls the enthusiasm and mentoring of the instructors and the holistic approach to the courses which showed him many aspects of our industry. His advice to current students is to pick the brains of the instructors and ask lots of questions. Get involved and learn as much as you can!

Daniel’s future plans include a year end move to Asia (Singapore) while his children are young, to learn and work there for a while as he continues his chef-journey.

Kristopher Cook

Kris is the Chef/Owner of Kristopher’s in Ithica, Michigan where he still works the line. Duties at the restaurant consist of ordering, food costing, creating specials and new menu ideas. Kris says his training at Grand Rapids Community College really helped him speed up his learning process, and allowed him to get into nice restaurants to work. He says you meet so many people in college with the same interests so you get lots of contacts if you ever need help. His advice to young chefs would be to pay attention to more than just cooking in the restaurants that you work, such as advertising, waiting tables and bartending. He believes if you ever decide to own your own restaurant, these will be important things to know.

Kris’s goal is to keep the restaurant up with current culinary trends as the food world is constantly changing and you need to keep pace. The economy has played a big part on his menu planning and he continually assesses how his menu is perceived from a value standpoint. He credits his training at Grand Rapids Community College for his success with achieving his restaurant ownership dream.

Derek Maxfield

Derek Maxfield, graduate CA 1992, and Ice Carver extraordinaire, was recently recognized with the 2008 Tour of Champions trophy after virtually sweeping professional competitions across the continent. Derek and his business partner Randy Finch founded and own Ice Sculptures Ltd” at 188 Wealthy Street SW in Grand Rapids, Michigan (www.iceguru.com).

Derek has an impressive resume which includes training with Certified Master Chef and Ice Master Dan Hugelier, and has been featured on a recent epidode of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not,” showcasing a working double Ferris Wheel crafted 100% from ice. They have appeared on NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX networks. Their work has been showcased in Chef Magazine, The MBA Jungle, Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Additionally, their ice creations have graced important events around the country such as the Ryder Cup, the Super Bowl, the Polar Express movie premier, and the 2008 PGA Championship. They are popular lecturers and demonstrators at culinary schools around the U.S. and have recently returned from a presentation at the Culinary Institute of America. Derek, Randy and former GRCC director Robert Garlough have also co-authored the most popular, perhaps, of ice carving texts on the market, entitled, “Ice Sculpting the Modern Way.”

In short, Derek and his partner have advanced the craft of ice sculpting in immeasurable ways, pioneering new equipment and techniques which have become the status quo for the craft.

Ice Sculpting Ltd’s most recent project is an ice “Mousetrap,” over 35 feet long and constructed with 4,000 pounds of ice. It will be featured on the Discovery Channel on March 17 at 10:00 p.m.

Derek says “working and learning while immersed in the positive environment of the SICE at GRCC fueled the skills and the confidence I needed to succeed in the culinary industry.” Further, Derek’s advice for SICE students, “Only perfect practice makes perfect. Strive to perfect your craft before trying to improve your speed. If you practice doing something poorly, you will only get good at being bad!”

Chef Don Kasten

Don Kasten graduated from GRCC as valedictorian of the culiinary program and continued his education at the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nichols State University where he obtained his Bachelor's degree. Don's high standards for service excellence were well proven. In 2005, Don was hired as a Chef/Lecturer at the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute. He currently teaches the practical hands-on portion of Dining Room Management sharing his own experiences and passion for top-notch service with future culinarians. As a former ACF Knowledge Bowl student contestant for GRCC, Don has carried that experience with him and is now the Team Coach for the ACF Knowledge Bowl Team at Nichols State. Don is currently continuing his work towards his Masters degree at the University of New Orleans.

Restaurant “Bloom” Opened by GRCC Hospitality Education Graduates

Chad Miller graduated in the Fall of 2004, Gwen in Winter of 2005. Both work as owner/chef/janitor/server/dishwasher along with partner Lucas Blonde, GRCC alumni 2005. The restaurant is small and casual – 28 seats and the cuisine is considered creative American. They use as many local products as possible, purchasing from the local farm markets every week and buying from several different local farmers. All of the meats are purchased from smaller farms that use humane methods when raising their animals. The menu changes often, sometimes on a whim, and always with the seasons. They believe it is important to keep things interesting by using unique flavors, temperatures and texture combinations.

Restaurant “Bloom” opened March 1st of this year. It has always been Chad’s goal to have his own restaurant so he thought he would jump right in and give it a chance. The results have been encouraging. The trio is having a great time with their start-up dream, and the reception from the West Michigan dining out public has been very positive. Restaurant “Bloom” is located at the corner of Division and Monroe Center.

Photo Available: Holland Sentinel / J.R. Valderas

David Rose
May 31, 2004 - Holland Sentinel Story:

Charu Chandra Pant
May 30, 2001 - CookingSchools.com Interview