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.
Penny Catanzaro - NEW
Penny is a passionate raw food chef and instructor. As a child she lived in many countries, and the exposure to different cuisines took hold as she especially enjoys creating unique dishes. Penny is a graduate of the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, a raw food chef school in northern California. She is an inspiring teacher and her love for food, people and health is the foundation of her classes.
Rhonda Clark - NEW
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.
Hector Esteve - NEW
Growing up in Puerto Rico, Hector learned to make paella from his grandfather. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati in Biology, Hector worked in medical research for 25 years. But when he started his business, Paella At Your Place, as a part time venture, its huge success soon had him stirring up flavors full time. When Polly Campbell of The Cincinnati Enquirer, recently attended one of his parties she wrote a glowing article about Hector’s paella “both as fun way to entertain casually, and for the richly flavored paella itself.”
Lisa Cooper Holmes - NEW
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.
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.
Matt Jamie - NEW
Matt, native of Louisville, Kentucky is a chef, owner and founder of the Bluegrass Soy Sauce Company. He is the only microbrewer of soy sauce in the United States, and creates the only soy sauce that is fermented in a bourbon barrel. He also developed a line of specialty foods, including flavored sorghums and spices perfumed with smoldering staves salvaged from spent bourbon barrels. Matt’s product was inspired by the small soy breweries of Japan.
Gayle Payton Walls - NEW
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.
Jacob Perry - NEW
Jacob’s love of food started at an early age. His passion is to show people great food without being chained to the kitchen. After attending classes at Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta, GA, and doing his college externship at Walt Disney World Resort he came back home to Cincinnati, to teach cooking classes. He also works as a private chef and caterer.
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 - NEW
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.
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.
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.
David Warda
David is an artist, costume designer, arts educator and cookbook author. David’s first cookbook, Assyrian Cookery: Exotic Foods that Outlasted a Civilization, documents 50 years of immigrant life in America. His newest cookbook, Crowd Pleasers, draws on his 30 years of catering, teaching cooking classes and feeding his family and friends.
