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Chef John Draz received his associate’s
degree from The Culinary Institute of
America in Hyde Park, New York in 1981
and was the recipient of the Edward T.
Hanley Scholarship. During his nearly 30
years in the field, Chef Draz has worked at
numerous restaurants including The Ritz-
Carlton Chicago, The Winnetka Grill, The
Ninety-Fifth, and Café Provencale. In 1983,
Chef Draz was featured in the PBS television
series Great Chefs of Chicago.
Chef Draz was a founding faculty
member of the Kendall College School of
Culinary Arts in Evanston, Illinois. While
serving on the faculty, he taught a wide
variety of subjects related to professional
cookery. Chef Draz served as chair of the
culinary department from 1988 to 1991,
supervising all aspects of instruction and
college foodservice. He has earned certifica-
tions from the American Culinary Federation
including Certified Executive Chef and
Certified Culinary Educator.
In addition, Chef Draz has experienced
entrepreneurship as chef/owner of a 300-seat
fine-dining restaurant. He has extensive
consulting experience lending his talents
to numerous independent restaurants, as
well as organizations such as McDonald’s
Corporation, Groen Corporation, Quaker Oats,
and the National Dairy Board. Chef Draz
currently serves as Executive Research Chef
for Ed Miniat, Inc., a manufacturer of cooked
meat products. In this position, he develops
products and menu items for the frozen food
industry and national restaurant chains.
Chef Christopher Koetke is the dean
of the School of Culinary Arts of Kendall
College. Before being named dean, he was a
chef instructor for six years, specializing in
sauce making, charcuterie, and ice carving.
Chef Koetke has been cooking profession-
ally since 1982 in some of the best restaurants
and pastry shops in France, Switzerland, and
the United States. Before coming to Kendall
College in 1998, he was the executive chef of
Chicago’s critically acclaimed Les Nomades
restaurant.
Chef Koetke has received numerous
industry awards including Chef of the Year
by the Chicago chapter of the International
Food and Wine Society, ACF culinary compe-
tition medals, and third place in the US
finals of the Bocuse d’Or. For several years,
Christopher was a contributing editor to Chef,
Chef Educator Today, and Fancy Food maga-
zines. He currently sits on numerous boards
nationally, is an elected commissioner of the
American Culinary Federation Foundation
Accrediting Committee, serves as a consul-
tant to numerous foodservice enterprises,
judges national culinary competitions, and
frequently presents at professional confer-
ences and various international culinary
forums. Chef Koetke is often a guest on TV
and radio broadcasts in Chicago and has
produced numerous educational DVDs.
Chef Koetke has an MBA from
Dominican University, BA in French
Literature from Valparaiso University, and
a Certificat de la Langue Française from the
Sorbonne in Paris.
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