Be sure to attend live cooking demonstrations by celebrity and local chefs from 11:30 pm – 5:00 pm on Saturday and noon – 4:00 on Sunday at the Chef Demo Tent
Local and celebrity chefs will speak and demonstrate their culinary skills-from Oyster Shooters to Blackened Snakehead and provide a tasting. Come see chefs such as Baron Seaver, Chef and Conservationist, with his new book, For Cod and Country, Jeff Eng, Clyde’s of Tower Oaks Lodge, John Hogan, Level, Clint Roze from AACC, Chad Wells, Alewife Baltimore, Spike Gjerde, Woodberry Kitchen, and more!
Chef Bios (Visit often as Bios are being added often)
Chef Barton SeaverOyster Shooter
Chef, author, speaker and National Geographic Fellow Barton Seaver is on a mission to restore our relationships with the ocean, the land and with each other—through dinner. He believes food is a crucial way for us to connect with the ecosystems, people and cultures of our world. Seaver explores these themes through healthful, planet-friendly recipes in his first book, For Cod & Country (Sterling Epicure, 2011), and as host of both the National Geographic Web series Cook-Wise and the three-part Ovation TV series In Search of Food. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and executive chef at some of D.C.’s most celebrated restaurants, Seaver is known for his devotion to quality, culinary innovation and sustainability. In 2008, he was honored as a “Seafood Champion” by the Seafood Choices Alliance and as “Rising Culinary Star of the Year” by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. In 2009, Esquire magazine named him “Chef of the Year.” Seaver works on ocean issues with National Geographic’s Mission Blue to increase awareness and inspire action. He also collaborates with D.C. Central Kitchen, the School Nutrition Association, the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, and Future of Fish.
Chef Chad Wells
Blackened Snakehead with Pina Colada Salsa
An avid angler Chef Wells has long been known for his pride in utilizing local ingredients in unique ways showcasing the versatility of Maryland’s bountiful meat and seafood harvest. As a 15 year veteran of the culinary field Chef Wells has been adorned by both the local and national press for his innovative approach to modern American cuisine. Wells’ passion for fine cuisine and love for conservation shines at Alewife Baltimore with his utilization of Snakehead and Blue Catfish to help educate the dining audience of the best way to help sustain our fisheries: eating invasive.
The Baltimore Sun summed it up best “Chef Chad Wells of Alewife restaurant tossed chunks of raw snakehead fish with cilantro and citrus to make something more ambitious than an $8 ceviche appetizer. It was an invasive-species eradication plan in a martini glass.”
Chef Spike Gjerde
Spike Gjerde has been a prominent part of Baltimore’s restaurant community since he opened Spike & Charlie’s with his brother in 1991. The restaurant was the first expression of Spike’s belief in cooking with local, seasonal ingredients—something that would be an integral aspect of all of his culinary endeavors over the next 20 years, including neighborhood bistro jr., the seafood-focused Atlantic, pan-Latin Joy America Café, as well as Vespa, a neighborhood Italian eatery.
Working with the chefs de cuisine at each of his restaurants, Spike seasonally updated and refined the menus. In addition he created seasonal dessert menus for each and was one of the first chefs to take an active role in developing wine programs to complement his cuisine.
Along with his wife, Amy—whom he met while she worked as a pastry chef at jr.—Spike opened Woodberry Kitchen in 2007, continuing his commitment to sustainable operations and working closely with over 60 different farmers and growers throughout the Chesapeake Bay and mid-Atlantic regions, who supply the restaurant with beef, bison, lamb, chicken, eggs, oysters, shrimp, cheeses, and a majority of its produce.
Spike’s hard work has resulted in acclaim on a local and national level. His restaurants have graced the ranks of many “best of” lists, including the Bon Appétit 2009 Best New Restaurants list, and Spike cooked for a sold-out crowd at the James Beard House in New York. In addition, he is a regular addition to local television programs and has also appeared on CBS’s “Morning Show.” He is also a member of the Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance, which educates the public on the importance of supporting the local economy, and encourages businesses and consumers to be environmentally sustainable and socially responsible.
Born in Iowa City, IA, Spike and his family moved to Baltimore when he was 6. After receiving his B.A. in philosophy and Chinese at Middlebury College in Vermont, he went on to apprentice as a pastry chef for 18 months at the Baltimore-based Patisserie Poupon. His work has also been informed by his extensive travels in Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean, and Asia.
He lives in Baltimore with his wife, Amy, and their two children.
Chef Clint Roze
Chesapeake Paella
Clint Roze is a professional chef, private party caterer and consultant to the foodservice industry. A former restaurant owner, Clint has been cooking since he was a child in his mother’s kitchen, currently he works with up and coming chefs at Anne Arundel Community College’s HCAT institute, preparing them for the challenges ahead.
Chef Alfredo Malinis, Jr
Local Rockfish “El Vocho” with Smoked Margarita w/Sea Salt “Air”
The son of a U.S. Naval Officer, Alfredo Malinis, Jr. moved from the Philipines at age 2, and has made Maryland his life long home and base for his culinary career. A graduate of the Acadamy of Culinary Arts at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, “Freddo”, began a 10 year term as the executive chef at the Chespeake Yacht Club, a private sailing club outside of Annapolis, Maryland. As Freddo grew, he left to seek the spoils of a private chefing career. where he was a sought after chef, helping numerous local restaurants define their kitchens with his talented taste for food, all the while chefing for some of the eastern shores most prominent families. in 2009, Freddo defined his path by opening Level Small Plates Lounge with a young upstart restaurant group. Freddo has propelled Level Small Plates Lounge to award winning status. in just 2 short years Level has received numerous regional culinary awards and attracted national press, for its commitment to sustainability, locally sourcing, and simple approach. Included in the prestigious Washingtonian top 100 restaurants in its first year, Freddo doesnt only work for himself, offering his talents by supporting many local charities and foundations in the greater Annapolis area, including Hospise100, CF foundation, and the Chesapeake Bay foundation.
His passion shows….he is known not only for his talented plates, but his ‘Old Bay Tattoo’, no chef is without their mark! Freddo can be found fishing or golfing, or rumaging the fields of his 20 plus local farm sources throughout the Chesapeake region. His sources are not rhetoric, he builds direct farm relationships first hand by walking the fields with
farm owners learning about bugs, sustainability, and natural farming techniques. Freddo is committed to bringing culinary awareness to the bountiful Chespeake region and great food to your plate!
