Christopher Koetke

Chris Koetke, CEC, CCE, HAAC, was the Executive Chef at Les Nomades in Chicago for five years and also worked at the famed Le Francais restaurant in Wheeling, Ill. He formerly served as the Executive Director of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts in Chicago and VP of Culinary Arts for Laureate International Universities, where he was responsible for strategic leadership of culinary arts programs at 48 campuses in 12 countries. Chris is a well-known expert on culinary matters, especially given his global travels experimenting with ingredients and flavors worldwide and his knowledge of amino acids as flavor elements. In 2010, he was given the inaugural Chefs Collaborative Pathfinder Award for his work in making sustainability mainstream within both foodservice operations and education, and he serves as chair of the Feed the Planet Committee of Worldchefs. Chris has an MBA from Dominican University and a BA in French literature from Valparaiso University. He has hosted his own national TV cooking show on the Live Well Network, written for prominent newspapers and trade publications, and authored a well-known culinary textbook, “The Culinary Professional.” He is currently Corporate Executive Chef at Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc. [email protected]

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