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Meet the Cooking School Staff
Cooking School Director: Leigh Barnhart Ochs
Leigh is the director of The Cooking School at Jungle Jim’s International Market. Her training includes ten years of cooking school sessions at LaVarenne at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, cooking and studying with chefs at the top of the industry. Leigh has worked as both a personal and private chef and owned a café in Cincinnati. She has served in recipe development as well as recipe testing for a James Beard Award winning author. Leigh’s cookbook, Be Your Guest, teaches busy people how to prepare simple, make-ahead recipes for maximum flavor with minimum work. Leigh holds a Bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a Master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati.
Cooking School Staff
Terry Barton is our office manager; most of the time you'll hear her voice over the telephone. She also assists at classes and participates in many school and store-run activities.
Janet Hontanosas, Ellen Mueller, Kay Hitzler, Pam Baird, Patsy Hollister and Lori Fowlkes are the cooking school sous chefs and are instrumental in preparing for classes and keeping the school in good running condition.
Rosalyn Benson, Doris Delaney, Missy Deloney, Marianne Fernandes, Diane Fuller, Ingrid Grant, Laura Guder, Linda Jamison, Sandy Keeney, Marilyn McKnight, Debbie Menninger, Marcia Menninger, Jen Pack, Lyn Plummer, Marian Riestenberg, Laura Rinsky, Jean Shirley and Bonnie Walsh are the Classroom Assistants and the backbone of the school. Their efforts before and during class enable our program to run smoothly and efficiently. All of our instructors are most grateful for the help they provide during their classes.
Cooking School Instructors
Penny Behnes
Penny grew up on the East coast of England in a family of restauranteurs and wine sommeliers. Her life took a major turn when she moved to New York City. She received one-on-one culinary training by a leading Executive Chef, and received instruction in vegetarian, macrobiotic, Chinese, French and Indian cuisine. She is currently a personal chef and is working on her first cookbook, and caters for small functions.
John Bostick
John has been teaching in the Chicago and Cincinnati areas for over 20 years. He has traveled extensively in Europe researching foods and has lived in France and Greece. Outside of his love for food, John has been in the high tech industry for 27 years. He is currently involved with two local well-known firms, LUCRUM, a business & IT consulting service company, and dbaDIRECT, the global industry leader in database management.
Krishna Chapatwala
Krishna is currently a personal chef and caterer for private dinners and gatherings. Born in India and raised in Virginia, she was surrounded by her mom, grandmothers and aunts preparing delicious dishes. In college, she often cooked for friends to nourish her creative outlet. However it was here in Cincinnati that cooking became her passion. In 2008, she enrolled in Cincinnati State’s Midwest Culinary Institute. And in 2009, after graduating with a Culinary Arts Certificate she realized her dream and opened Green Eats.
Rhonda Clark
Since Rhonda was a small girl, she’s loved food – eating it, cooking it and especially serving it. Rhonda graduated from the culinary arts program at the Art Institute of New York City, in 2004. She spent time working at Chef Bobby Flay’s restaurant Bolo, and was Garde Manger line cook at Dan Silverman’s Lever House on Park Avenue. After returning home to Cincinnati, Ohio in 2005, she became a personal chef and currently takes her love of cooking into homes and events around the Tri-State area.
Lisa Cooper Holmes
Lisa, proprietor of Haute Chocolate in Cincinnati, Ohio has been creating, innovating and spinning delectable, edible and Award winning Lisa’s Brownies, and original, “freestyle,” chocolate confectionary items in her Boutique kitchens since 1979. Passionate and knowledgeable about the nuances of what she deems to be a very special staple in every ones diet, Lisa loves to teach and share her experience and expertise in the realm of chocolate. When she isn’t teaching she is busy purveying Haute’s repertoire of fine chocolate confections at her Boutique in Cincinnati, and her Boutique in “Chocolate Space.”
Rita Heikenfeld
Rita is an herbalist and a member of the IACP, certified as a professional level II instructor. She is listed in Who’s Who in the Midwest and Who’s Who in American Women. She has a syndicated weekly column in the Community Press Newspaper and is co-author of, The Official Snack Guide for Beleaguered Sports Parents. Rita is the author of How to Grow and Cook with Herbs that Heal. She also cooks live on local ABC.
Jim Hennessey
Jim has been in the beer business for 20 years and takes great delight in sampling the local brews wherever he travels. In his career he estimates that he has tried well over 1,000 different beers and hopes to try 1,000 new ones before I go to the Great Pub in the Sky. Sometimes my wife and I fight over the last IPA in the refrigerator and she usually wins. Jim has built and maintains a portfolio of fine beer, one that requires knowledge and the passion to sell. And he brings his knowledge and passion for beer to the table every time he comes to the Cooking School.
Janet Hontanosas
A native of Connecticut, Janet moved to Cincinnati in 1979. She has gained valuable culinary experience working with many well-known chefs including Giuliano Bugialli, Stephen Schmidt and Marlene Sorosky. Janet has attended Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School and is a member of the I.A.C.P. Formerly she was an assistant at The Creative Kitchen at Lazarus.
Terry Howard
Terry has a degree in Food Science and Nutrition. She grew up in California and cooks with a “California influence” and strives to cook and eat a healthy diet. She has worked for big food companies in sales and marketing, owned a restaurant and is now a manufacturer’s representative and sells kitchenware and gourmet foods.
Tamara Mitchell
Tamara is a passionate gardener, personal chef, local food advocate, and blogger from Akron, Ohio. Voted the number one caterer in the Akron area, her personal chef service, Dine-In Diva, provides ready-to heat meals for clients, personalized in-home catering services as well as classes in both cooking and edible landscaping. You can follow her adventures in cooking and gardening at www.gardengrocerygadgetgirl.com.
Ellen Mueller
Ellen loves to cook and entertain family and friends. Since Ellen is Greek, food is the cornerstone of many family functions and traditions. She has been a sous chef at Jungle's Jims for six years and teaches Cooking on a Budget and Mediterranean classes. Her love of cooking continues to be inspired by the many chefs she assists at the school.
Gayle Payton Walls
Gayle is a personal chef and owner of, I Dream of Dinners, providing personal chef services and inhome catering to the Greater Cincinnati area. She loves to experiment with different recipes and create many of her own along the way. Her cooking philosophy is, simple cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. Everyone should enjoy memorable meals using high quality natural ingredients without spending the entire day in the kitchen.
Richard Prince
Richard Prince has been head cake decorator at the BonBonerie for 15 years. A pastry chef with over 25 years of experience, he studied at Ecole Le Notre in France. His work experience includes the Everglades Club in Palm Beach and the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. He is a Certified Decorator as recognized by the Retail Bakers Association and has medaled in National RBA competitions.
Laura Rinsky
Laura, although born in Cincinnati, has taken her passion for cooking around the globe. Combining her culinary talents and love of travel she has engineered her career to include cooking classes from many parts of the world. After volunteering for many years at the Cooking School at Jungle Jim’s she extended her passion into teaching others. Family and friends know that dining at Laura’s for special occasions is always a great treat. Laura is owner of Wayfarer Travel in Madeira, Cincinnati’s oldest independent agency.
Betty Rodriquez-Hakes
Betty is owner of Gourmet Betty, a cooking instructor, public speaker and marketing professional. She feels there’s more to cooking and baking than just food. Food is the cornerstone of family reunions, dates, meetings, traditions, if you think about it - everything. Betty likes multi-cultural foods and enjoys discovering healthier and easier ways of cooking. She likes to test gadgets and new products, and will share with you which products save time, money and frustration.
Dave Schmerr
Dave started making wine when he was a teenager and that started a lifetime of being in the wine business. Dave worked at Shillito’s La Gourmandise Department at 7th and Race in downtown Cincinnati for 3 years until he began working in the wholesale business with the 7th largest wholesaler in the United States, Allied Wine and Spirits. After a 9 year stint as a wine buyer/manager he came to Jungle Jim’s in 1987 as their wine buyer/director and has been here ever since. Dave does all of the wine tastings at Jungle’s and travels extensively throughout the wine world.
Carol Tabone
Carol earned her Grand Diplôme from La Varenne in Paris, France. She attended courses at the Cordon Bleu School in London and has training in Mexican as well as Chinese cuisine. She was formerly the Director of The Creative Kitchen at Lazarus, and The Cooking School at Jungle Jim’s. Carol is a member of the International Association of Cooking Professionals and has been certified by the I.A.C.P. as a Professional Level II Instructor. Carol holds a Master’s Degree in Education.
Calvin Tam
Born in China, Calvin moved to Cincinnati where he attended high school and some college. During high school he learned to make sushi at an independent Japanese owned restaurant. He has eight years of experience in the sushi field. Calvin loves to eat out and to try new things at different restaurants and different cultures. He likes to experiment with using the different ingredients in sushi.
Vincent Vassil
Vince was previously the Sommelier at Jean Robert at Pigall’s. He attained his first level in the Court of Master Sommeliers three years ago. Passionate and creative about food and wine pairings he provides an intimate, fun atmosphere where these worlds can be combined. Vince is the newest member of our team of wine experts here in the Jungle.
Bonnie Walsh
Bonnie loves to cook and entertain. She has taken classes at The Greenbrier and has worked at the Brandywine Restaurant in Monroe, Ohio. She attended many classes at the Creative Kitchen in the downtown Lazarus store, and has been a class assistant at the Cooking School at Jungle Jim’s International Market.
