As a young boy I enjoyed being in the Kitchen cooking with my grandmother. By eight I was baking cookies on Saturday mornings, sometime eating more dough than baking. I took my first restaurant job at fourteen washing dishes at Jakes on the Beach in Del Mar California. From there I moved up to prep cook and learned a few tricks of the trade. After high school I moved up to Washington State to play football for the Huskies. This lasted a short while and I pursued a cooking job while going to community college. Yarrow Bay Beach Cafe was where I learned to cook moving from prep to pantry to broil, sauté, kitchen manager and eventually to Sous Chef. I was able to work under some very supportive and talented Chefs, Nick Musser of Icon Grill, Kris Keff of Flying Fish and Vicky Mc Caffree and Cameon Orel. The opportunity to run my own kitchen came along with the remodel at Hector's Bar and Grill in Kirkland in 2003. I was there for eight years with the support of my loving wife of eighteen years and three children. I am currently at The Redmond Bar & Grill which opened in September. The food I like to cook is fresh seasonal ingredients and simple preparations with flavors ranging from classic Italian to Southern Creole. I like a wide variety of food and like to give my guests the ability to find something on the menu that will appease them.

Chef Nick Musser's career began working with Flying Fish Chef Christine Keff where he developed his own focus and personality in his cuisine. Throughout his career he has continued to develop his own style at restaurants like McCormick and Schmick's, Yarrow Bay Café, and now the icon Grill. He is always looking for new ways to challenge and diversify his palate and continue his culinary growth. Chef Nick received Redbook's Magazine "Husband of the year award in 2000. He is a classically trained violist playing and teaching in chamber groups and symphonies all around the West Coast.

Carol Marty is a certified Wilton cake decorating instructor who has been teaching cake decorating for over eight years. She also is an experienced pastry and dessert instructor, teaching throughout the Pacific Northwest. She is a recipe tester for Cook's Country magazine and is a Field Editor for Taste of Home magazine. In addition, Carol is working on a cookbook with a local chef and is looking forward to its publication.

Carol also owns two businesses: Sugar Sand Photography, specializing in food and local photography, and Carol's Creative Confections, specializing in a variety of tasty sweets.

Chef Pranee first learned Thai cooking as a child in Phuket, Thailand where her mom was a village chef famous for her Hua Mok (fish cake). By age 12, she had become the substitute cook for the family. After completing school, she worked for the Public Health Department.

When Pranee moved to Seattle she left her family and homeland behind—but not her mortar and pestle. Filling her kitchen with Thai herbs, spices and cooking equipment helped her to feel at home in Seattle.

Today, Pranee is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), a caterer, tour guide and cooking instructor whose popular classes in Thai cuisine are sellouts throughout the Northwest. Over the past seven years, her lively public speaking skills and enthusiasm and passion for teaching have caught fire. She is a culinary educator at A Chef's Kitchen, Bayview School of Cooking, Bella Kitchen Essentials, Blue Ribbon Cooking & Culinary Center, Cook's World, Culinary Events Northwest, Dish It Up! and PCC Cooks.

Pranee returns to Thailand every year to collect and preserve recipes from her family and her village. She also leads culinary trips to Thailand where she teams up with other Thai chefs to provide an opportunity for westerners to experience Thai food and culture.

Chef John Nesby and his wife and co-owner Laura, have run the acclaimed Mor Mor Bistro and Bar since it opened in Poulsbo in 2004. After meeting as students at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, John and Laura spent the next decade training in some of the country's most respected kitchens, including The Four Seasons Scottsdale at Troon North, Joachim Splichal's Napa Valley restaurant Pinot Blanc, and Portland Oregon's James Beard Award Winning Paley's Place. While in the Napa Valley, John also attended the Culinary Institute of America Greystone. John oversees the kitchen, drawing on his classic Italian and French influences to create daily changing menus. John is an active board member with the Poulsbo Farmers Market and enjoys working with local products and producers to offer his customers the best the region has to offer. The cuisine of the Nesby's stays simple and elegant and true to their roots as third generation business owners in the fantastic Poulsbo community.

Carol Marty is a certified Wilton cake decorating instructor who has been teaching cake decorating for over eight years. She also is an experienced pastry and dessert instructor, teaching throughout the Pacific Northwest. She is a recipe tester for Cook's Country magazine and is a Field Editor for Taste of Home magazine. In addition, Carol is working on a cookbook with a local chef and is looking forward to its publication.

Carol also owns two businesses: Sugar Sand Photography, specializing in food and local photography, and Carol's Creative Confections, specializing in a variety of tasty sweets.