Our 2016 Personalities
Dan Whalen, cookbook author - Dan Whalen is the founder and creator of the popular recipe blog The Food in my Beard. In the past 6 years since the website’s inception, he has published over 1000 recipes that have been viewed over 6 million times. He has been featured in many prestigious publications such as Saveur, Bon Appetit, Serious Eats, Fine Cooking, Boston.com, MSNBC, and Huffington Post.
He currently lives in Boston, where he is writing for the General Mills blog, Tablespoon.com. He also does restaurant menu consulting, the most recent of which is a recently opened burrito and coffee shop called Cafe Burrito in Belmont, MA. https://www.thefoodinmybeard.com/
Chris Viaud, Chef- After graduating from Johnson and Wales in Providence RI, I set out to find the top restaurant in Boston where I could really push myself and excel in my career. Not long after my search began, I found myself in the kitchen of Deuxave in Boston’s Back Bay Neighborhood. I have worked in a handful of restaurants before settling into my new kitchen, but it was at Deuxave where I really developed my true love for the culinary arts. After two and a half years working alongside my mentors I had the longing for a new challenge, something completely different, this is where I made the decision to help open the rebranded Papa Razzi Metro in Burlington. While most of my time is dedicated to the Italian themed restaurant, I do host private chef dinners on my own free time. I enjoy hosting these dinners because it is a chance for me to break free of boundaries and express my creativity and offer something new and different aside from what I do on the daily in the kitchen. It also allows my guests to share a memorable dining experience in the comfort of their home and gives them the chance to see that you don’t need to be in a professional kitchen environment to make flavorful and beautifully presented meals.
Chef Diane Hendericks - Cooking has always been Diane’s passion and she began to notice that people were equating eating healthy with boring, bland food which was not what she was whipping up! After years in private practice she self-published 2 cookbooks, designed a signature line of spices and culinary items and started, “Diane’s Daily Dish”, her personal chef and catering business. “Any dish can be revamped to be good for you”, she says, “it just takes a little education and finesse!” Diane is the host of “Chef Inspired Healthy”, her series on The Daily Meal Video Network where she slices and dices delicious dishes with America’s top chefs and she is one of America’s go-to food, healthy cooking and eating experts for national television, print and on-line media! Throughout her impressive career, Diane has been a regular on-air contributor both Good Morning America and The Better Show, featured in The New York Times and Shape Magazine, contributing author to many of the nation’s top print and online publications and guest healthy cooking expert on The Chew, Fox & Friends, The Juice, CBS Early Show, Good Day New York, CBS News, WGN, ABC News, NBC, FOX, CNN, TLC, The Better Show, Martha Stewart Radio and more.
Chef Gavin Smith - After a decade on the management side of the restaurant industry I decided to follow my love and become a full time private chef. I pride myself on taking care of others. In my kitchen I experiment with new flavors, and push the limits of my creativity. I have hosted my friends, family, and neighbors for years. We drink, we eat, we talk, and it is always merry. After launching the Food Minded fellowship supper club in Atlanta I realized I not only had a passion, I had a following. Moving to Martha's Vineyard is a dream come true for a chef. Local is not just a buzzword, it is a lifestyle. I fish, I farm, I cook, and yes there are plenty of beaches. I am available on the island to prepare and serve private dinners and other special food events. Let me do the cooking for you.
Chef Martin Verano - Chef Martin Verano started his culinary career in Las Vegas, where he then enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu culinary school. Two semesters in school and suddenly he is offered an apprenticeship to work at Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House. Since that time, he has worked with a wide range of celebrity chefs including Mario Batali, Michael Mina, Wolfgang Puck, among others. He is currently the Executive Chef at the Boathouse Restaurant in Edgartown, a private restaurant that focuses on fresh seafood and creative cuisine.
Matt O’Neil, Chef & Owner- A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, Chef Matt O’Neil learned alongside some of the Best chef’s in Massachusetts, including Anthony Caturano at Prezza & Copia, Barbara Lynch at No. 9 Park & The Butcher Shop, and Mark Chaput of the prestigious Vineyard Golf Club, where he began his career. Born in Swampscott, Matt jumped at the chance to fill a culinary void on the North Shore when the opportunity arose to open The Blue Ox in 2009. Since then, Matt and his team have garnered some of the most prestigious awards from the biggest names in media around Greater Boston. His Sin Burger won Boston Magazine’s “Battle of the Burger” three years straight and brought him to Miami to compete in South Beach Food & Wine Festival. Formerly ESPN’s ‘Cooking Coach’, Matt cut his teeth on air and most recently was featured on Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay.” The Blue Ox is Matt’s expression of an upscale casual American restaurant offering traditional dishes in a nontraditional way.
Chef Peter Lodi - Blue Crab was created on the island of Martha's Vineyard during the summer of 2004 by Chef Peter Lodi and his wife Whitney. Based on the foundation of the classic New England style of service perfected by the 'domestic couples' of the 18th century, Peter and Whitney have redefined traditional methods through modern 20th century interpretations of preparation and service. Utilizing skills acquired through years in the restaurant industry and a decade of experience traveling and cooking around the world, Chef Lodi had cultivated relationships and learned techniques from purveyors and chefs of the highest level, enabling him to create unrivaled dining experiences for clients with the most discerning tastes.
Carlos Montoya, Chef - I graduated from the CIA in New York 2001 and immediately started working for Douglas Rodriguez. At Chicama cooking Nuevo Latino, and Pipa cooking Spanish for almost 3 years. I then worked at Aureole as the saucier. I learned about local, seasonal, contemporary American cooking. After about a year I followed an old instructor from school to Fresco. There we focused on Italian with a lot of nose to tail. It was also here where my love and fascination for pasta grew. After 2 years of working at Fresco, I wanted to get back to Latin flavors. So I took a sous chef job at Sushi Samba on 7th Avenue. There the focus was a combination of Brazilian, Peruvian, and Japanese cuisine. In 2008 the opportunity to come up to Martha's Vineyard presented itself. It was to work as the sous chef for the Sweet Life. I fell in love with the island right away. The farms, beaches, landscapes, and the amazing sea food. In 2012 I took over the kitchen of the Sweet life as head chef. There I was able to apply the different techniques and styles of cooking I've learned over the years. In 2014 I was hired as the Executive Chef of Farm Neck Cafe to help develop a fine dining dinner program. After 2 years of working there I found my way back home to the Sweet Life.