Meet our recent Chef Scholars

 

Billy Gregory Brannen II

Executive Chef, O-ku Sushi Tampa, FL

Billy Brannen is from a small town in southeast Georgia and worked in Japanese cuisine for about 16 years. He started working in a Japanese restaurant when he was 19 years old and spent most of his career focusing on sushi. A routine-driven person, he enjoys returning to work every day to hone his skills. In 2022, he moved to Jacksonville, FL to accept the Executive Chef role at The Indigo Road restaurant O-ku Sushi. Leading to his recent promotion opportunity in Tampa, FL, where he will be the Executive Chef of O-ku Tampa and a new Nikkei concept, Maru. In his down time, he loves spending time with his beautiful wife and kids. He is a food, music and cinema enthusiast, and a sucker for good comedy.

Jennifer Kauilanionapua Chow

Executive Chef, Nobu Restaurant Caesars Palace

Jennifer Chow is the Executive Chef at Nobu Caesars Palace. Born and raised in Hawaii, she grew up surrounded by different cultures. Jennifer’s grandmother is from Japan and her father is of Hawaiian and Chinese descent. Jennifer moved to Las Vegas after graduating high school and lived there for 14 years. She has always loved cooking and like many, food is the center of all her family gatherings. She feels lucky to be in a family of great cooks.  She worked and learned from kitchen to kitchen until she eventually found her way to Nobu where she has been for the last 11 years, rising in the ranks, traveling and learning.

Kyle Daniel Goldstein
     
Chef de Cuisine, Cafe Carmellini

Kyle Goldstein began his professional culinary career attending, The Culinary Institute of America. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree, he was immediately drawn to the fine dining scene of New York City. Kyle started his NYC journey cooking in the kitchen of Eleven Madison Park. From there, he transitioned to another renowned New York City fine dining establishment, Gramercy Tavern. He began in 2013 as a prep cook, and never looked back. Over the course of seven years, he has risen through the ranks of the kitchen to Executive Sous Chef. He started a new chapter as Chef de Cuisine for Andrew Carmellini's newest and self-titled restaurant, Cafe Carmellini. The restaurant opened in November 2023. It received Esquire's "Best New Restaurant" award and received two stars from the New York Times.

Lena Faye Ciardullo

Executive Chef, Union Square Cafe

Lena Ciardullo is the Executive Chef of Union Square Cafe. Raised in Naperville, Illinois, Lena attended the University of Illinois where she received her bachelor’s degree in communications. During her undergraduate years, Lena studied abroad in Rome, where her love of food and hospitality was ignited. Upon her return, Lena found her first job in the kitchen and hasn’t looked back since.

In 2009, Lena received her associate’s degree in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of America and immediately joined the opening team of Maialino, USHG’s Roman-inspired trattoria. She later moved on to Gramercy Tavern where she worked as a tournant, before joining the Marta team in 2014. Throughout her time at Marta, Lena moved through the ranks, ultimately assuming the role of Executive Chef of Marta, Caffe Marchio, and Vini e Fritti in 2018, before joining the Union Square Cafe team in 2019.

Since joining Union Square Cafe, Lena has driven to continue to foster their relationship with the Union Square Greenmarket and the community at large through programming and menu development.

Matthew Hoyle

Corporate Chef, Nobu Restaurants

After cooking in fish and chip shops in the North of England, Matt progressed to Michelin star kitchens cooking modern British food, before moving to Nobu London in 1998. From these formative years he became Head Chef at Matsuhisa Mykonos, then Nobu St. Moritz, before moving to New York to open Nobu 57 as Executive Chef in 2005. Following the success of Nobu 57, Matt is now a Nobu Corporate Chef overseeing Nobu 57, Downtown, Dallas, Washington DC, and Nobu Caesars Atlantic City.

2024 Chef Scholarship Recipients

  • Chef Michael Collantes
    Chef Owner – Soseki Modern Omakase

  • Chef Aretah Erttah
    Chef de Cuisine – Gramercy Tavern

  • Chef Joseph Murphy
    Executive Chef – Nobu Houston

  • Chef Joseph Salvaggio
    Sous Chef – Gabriel Kreuther

  • Chef Klementine Song
    Chef de Cuisine – Tsubaki

2020 Chef Scholarship Recipients

  • Chef William Cesark
    Sous Chef – Gabriel Kreuther

  • Chef Munkhbilguun (Alex) Dorjpurev
    Chef de Cuisine – Morimoto Asia

  • Chef Brian Flagg
    Executive Chef – The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

  • Chef Jonathan Karis
    Executive Chef – Chambers

  • Chef William Trover
    Executive Chef – Makoto

2019 Chef Scholarship Recipients