I’ve been camping, backpacking and fishing as long as I can remember from the mountains of New Mexico to the lakes of Northern Minnesota. As a boy, I was involved in Boy Scouts and got my Eagle Scout by 14, but remained active for years because I loved the outdoors adventures we had around the country.

I loved to cook at a very young age, whether it be making holiday meals with my grandma or sneaking spices into a pot of chili my mom was making (sometimes it didn’t work out). I got my first kitchen job as a teenager slinging bagels in Omaha and went on to work at a store bakery.

I went to college to study architecture at UNL, but in the end, cooking was my true passion, so I decided to pursue a Culinary Arts Degree at MCC instead. While in school, I worked at the Omaha Country Club for 4 years, truly learning fine dining skills under 2 fantastic chefs and mentors. After graduating, I went on to work for my greatest mentor, Paul Kulik, at Le Bouillon. There, I learned my love for full animal butchery and utilizing every piece of the animal in my cooking. I worked my way up the line, eventually becoming the Sous Chef and stayed for 5 years soaking up everything I could about French cuisine, learning and refining myself into the Chef I wanted to be.

After leaving, I became the Sous Chef at Dolce, another prominent Omaha restaurant. There, I was able to continue refining my skills of plating and whole animal butchery. This is also where I met Mark Blackford of Craig Cattle Company, a local cattle rancher that produces, in my opinion, the best Wagyu beef in the country.

During my free time, I try to camp and fish as much as I can, travel when i can, as well as work on my passion of protein butchery and smoked meats. I also love to make barbecue and hot sauce which I bottle.