Marc Adenwala
Place of Birth: Pakistan
Graduated: May 2007, California School of Culinary Arts
Degree: Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts
Current Position: Private and Personal Executive Chef, Le Gourmet Privet, California
Cooking since the age of 13, Marc Adenwala has always had a passion for food. Having traveled throughout Asia, Europe, America and the Caribbean, Marc has built an extensive arsenal of culinary experiences and knowledge that he draws upon every day.
Marc graduated with honors from the Le Cordon Bleu program and earned additional culinary credentials from the American Culinary Foundation and the American Personal and Private Chef Association. He then founded his own personal chef service, Le Gourmet Privet. His company has established a regular base of customers and serves clients in Los Angeles, Hollywood, Burbank, Pasadena and the San Fernando Valley.
Prior to starting his company, Marc gained experience at several well-known local establishments, including McCormick & Schmick's, Wolfgang Puck Catering, Xiomara's, The Manor Hotel and Scientology Celebrity Center, and Hustler's of Culture.
His work and travel experiences, along with his culinary training, have allowed him to bring an international flair to his company and serve a wide range of client interests. His former career as a bookkeeper has also helped him make Le Gourmet Privet a successful business.
California School of Culinary Arts is now known as Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
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Kyle Connaughton
Graduate: March 1996, California School of Culinary Arts
Degree: Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts
Current Position: Executive Chef, The Fat Duck Restaurant, Bray, England
Kyle Connaughton was born into a family that was heavily involved in the restaurant industry as both chefs and restaurateurs. He was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel all throughout the world with his family, experiencing many cuisines and cultures. At the age of 9, Kyle announced to his parents that he was going to become a chef after eating at a sushi restaurant for the first time, an experience that he still claims as the most powerful food memory of his life.
While still in high school, Kyle worked at a small family restaurant, where he learned all aspects of the restaurant business, and he then apprenticed at a local highly regarded Japanese retardant. While still attending Le Cordon Bleu training (then known as the Southern California School of Culinary Arts), Kyle was sent to work in the famous Spago Beverly Hills, and just one year later he was transferred to The Ritz Carlton’s pastry department where he worked his way up to sous chef.
Because of his strong appreciation of his instructors, Kyle was happy to accept a position as Chef Instructor, while working as chef de patie in the evening at LA’s prestigious Lucques and A.O.C., The Water Grill, and Campanile. Kyle also returned to his passion for Japanese cuisine by studying sushi and kai-seki at the California Sushi Academy and later private instruction from Master Sushi Chef Andy Matsuda at The Sushi Chef Institute. Chef Matsuda brought Kyle to Japan to cook with him at a series of charity dinners in Kobe and helped him begin to realize his goals for going to work and live in Japan.
Kyle was then promoted to the position of Chef de Cuisine and Department Chair for the school’s fine dining restaurant, Restaurant 561, which gave him the ability to work both as a restaurant chef and a teacher. Kyle continued to study Japanese, and in 2003 he accepted an offer to work for Three Michelin Star chef Michel Bras at his second restaurant in Hokkaido, Japan as a tournant. This offer also allowed him to work at several of the traditional Japanese restaurants of high prestige that were located inside the same luxury resort hotel as Michel Bras.
Kyle spent the next two years working in Japan for Michel Bras and was also able to work his way through the kitchens of Miyama-Sou, Tenkawa, Wakuzen, Daruma, and Toji Sanka each of which is revered in Japan as the top restaurants in their respective disciplines of kai-seki, sushi, and soba.
Kyle then learned about a new position being developed for a new Development Kitchen at The Fat Duck in Bray, England. After completing his contracts in Japan, Kyle was named head chef and now commands all of the menu development work for The Fat Duck Restaurant, overseeing a team of food scientists, chefs, and stagiers and coordinating with countless scientists, academics, artisans, designers, perfumers, flavorists, and other to create the restaurant’s famous multi-sensory dining experience.
In 2004
The Fat Duck was awarded its third Michelin Star and in 2005 was rated “Best Restaurant in the World” by Restaurant Magazine’s World Restaurant Award. The restaurant has also been awarded a 19/20 Gaul Milau rating.
California School of Culinary Arts is now known as Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
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Bryan Hankins
Graduated: July 2006, California School of Culinary Arts
Degree: Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts
Current Position: Executive Chef, Red, White and Bluezz, Pasadena, California
Bryan Hankin’s experience began even before he started culinary school, working in corporate chains such as Perkins, Eddie Roman’s, Elli’s, and Wolfgang Puck Café.
Bryan says, “I toured around some corporate restaurants . . . but once enrolled at CSCA, the instructors at the school helped guide me to meet the right chefs and get my foot in the right restaurants.”
He gained experience at highly rated establishments such as the Water Grill, Providence, Spago’s, Crustaceans, Bastide, L’Orangarie, La Cachette, Barssac, Vert, and The Ritz Carlton. Adam also had the opportunity to work with Chef Kyle Connaughton, the head chef of research and development for the Fat Duck in London.
After graduation, Bryan accepted a position at Pasadena’s Red White and Bluezz restaurant, becoming the Sous Chef in just two months and the Executive Chef just three months after that. At this point, when Bryan was only 23, he was voted one of the top eight chefs of Pasadena and San Fernando Valley by Boulevard Magazine. And by the time he turned 24, Red White and Bluezz was voted best restaurant, best brunch, best staff, best live jazz venue, best personalities, and best bar in Pasadena.
California School of Culinary Arts is now known as Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
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Kara Michelson
Graduated: March 2008, California School of Culinary Arts
Degree: Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts
Current Position: Personal Chef, Bluff Cove/Rolling Hills Estates, California; Assistant Food Stylist (Target, Kellogg, TGI Friday’s)
Even before graduating, Kara Michelson was gaining experience at top restaurants, doing plating and prep work at Charlie Trotters and working under one of Spain’s Master Chefs, Koldo Royo, during her externship at the Palma de Mallorca in Spain. She also received an externship at The French Laundry, considered one of the finest restaurants in the world.
Kara then successfully completed her program at Le Cordon Bleu and continued to find her skills in demand, doing plating, prep work, culinary staging, and consultation at well-known California establishments such as Melisse, Providence, and The Lost Canyons Golf Resort.
Kara is currently working as a private chef and television food stylist. She has assisted with food prep and styling for the commercials of major brands such as Target, Kellogg, and TGI Friday’s.
California School of Culinary Arts is now known as Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
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Lauren Von Der Pool
Graduated: September 2008, California School of Culinary Arts
Degree: Associate of Occupational Studies in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts
Current Position: Owner & Executive Chef, Cayenne Catering & Personal Chef Services, California
Lauren Von Der Poolis the owner and Executive Chef of Cayenne Catering & Personal Chef Services, and works as private chef for celebrities such as John Salley (a former Laker).
Lauren specializes in exotic, vegan and raw food cuisine, with a mission to “touch people on a mass level and expand their knowledge and options.” She believes her cuisine gives people more options and “brings light to natural healing through raw foods that can be both sexy and healthful to the soul.”
Lauren has been featured on various radio talk shows and has spoken on the connection between raw foods and healthy living. She is currently planning to travel to Paris to work as a private chef for musician Phil Cohran. Lauren will be performing alongside Cohran—an opportunity that allows her to combine both her passions of music and raw foods.
California School of Culinary Arts is now known as Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
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Bryan Williams
Graduated: November 2006, California School of Culinary Arts
Degree: Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts
Current Position: Executive Chef, La Canada Flintridge Country Club, La Canada, California
Bryan Williams’ passion for cooking began with the down-home cuisine and barbeque of his native North Carolina. Bryan attended East Carolina University and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Hospitality Management and a Minor in Business Administration. He continued to cook while a student, and by graduation he had acquired 10 years of experience at cafeterias, short order bistros, family restaurants, and a little fine dining in the Carolinas.
In 2005, Bryan’s culinary interests were at their peak, and he moved from North Carolina to the Los Angeles area. Bryan enrolled in at California School of Culinary Arts, and discovered that he really enjoyed the finer aspects of the culinary industry. Just prior to graduation, he accepted an externship at Bistro 45, a local French bistro. After graduation, Bryan was quickly promoted from Line Cook to Sous Chef and carried that title for two years.
In that time, wine dinners, caterings, and food tastings became his passion and he moved up into an Executive Chef position at La Canada Flintridge Country Club—at just 28 years of age. Bryan’s passion for cooking reaches beyond the workplace, and he welcomes the challenges that lie ahead as he works toward chef accreditation. Bryan has this advice for culinary students: “hard work does pay off and with a good attitude and a little seasoning, goals can be soon achieved.”
California School of Culinary Arts is now known as Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
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