Meet the Mentors!

HSC was pleased to welcome a remarkable team of mentors for Cooking up Change 2009! In the weeks leading up to the competition, each team of student chefs was paired with a professional chef in Chicago’s culinary community who could provide guidance and insight in recipe development and the professional experience of participating in a culinary competition.

The wonderful team of mentors for Cooking up Change 2009 included:

  • Chef Lindsey Arenberg
  • Chef Joel Cooper, Wolfgang Puck
  • Chef Sara Haas, Kendall College
  • Chef Heidi Hedeker, Kendall College
  • Chef Evelyn Hitchcock, J&L Catering
  • Chef Ryan Hutmacher, Centered Chef Food Studios
  • Chef Jeffrey Joslyn, Centered Chef Food Studios
  • Chef Jenny Lewis, Lexington College
  • Chef Stephen Menyhart, Gary Comer Youth Center
  • Chef Courtney Moran, J&L Catering
  • Chef Debbie O’Connor, Personal Thyme Catering
  • Chef Laura Ramirez, J&L Catering
  • Chef Julius Russell, A Tale of Two Chefs
  • Chef Peggy Ryan, Kendall College
  • Chef Elizabeth Valenti, Amazing Edibles
  • Chef Patrick Williams, Grampa Boo’s Barbeque
Mentor Spotlight: Chef Ryan Hutmacher

Chef Ryan with the student chefs of Dunbar High School

Chef Ryan is co-founder of Centered Chef Food Studios.  With his fun-loving attitude, Chef Ryan finds inspiration for many of his innovative dishes by blending his knowledge of food with his hobbies.  With a passion for travel and a love for endurance sports, his expertise is in creating meals that harmonize flavor, texture, convenience and nutrition.  His vision captures the flavors of “Clean Cuisine.”  Though Chef Ryan realized his passion for food while cooking at a restaurant during his undergraduate studies, it wasn’t until three years into an uninspiring career in sales management that he sought to re-invent his career as well as his lifestyle. 

As he puts it:  “I was at my physical and mental worst.  At age 24, I was 5’7” and weighed 230 pounds.  I was over 40% body fat!  My doctor wanted to prescribe anti-depressants, blood pressure and cholesterol medications.  This compounded with the fact I was deemed a pre-Type 2 Diabetic, had asthma and smoked cigarettes…something had to change!”       

Shortly after, Chef Ryan enrolled in the Accelerated Culinary Arts Program at Kendall College in Chicago.  Chef Ryan earned world-class experience during his apprenticeship in France under the guidance of Chef Jean-Jacques Galliffet, at restaurants including La Cerisaie, Auberge de la Valloire and Le Moulin.  It was this experience of cooking natural, regional ingredients that helped begin to mold Chef Ryan’s understanding of food and its implications on health.

Upon his return to the states, he co-founded Centered Chef Food Studios with best friend and former classmate Chef Jill Houk.  It was then that they began to collaborate cooking styles.  Their inspiration for “Clean Cuisine” began to further escalate as they recognized changes in their own health, as well as the individuals and groups they supported. Good food that nourishes the body is part of the overall equation of being balanced or “centered”.  This evolved as their niche.

Chef Ryan holds a B.S. in public relations from Illinois State University and graduated at the top of his class with an A.S. from the culinary arts program at Kendall College.