THE CRATE FACULTY
SPRING AND SUMMER 2008

ED BARTUSH Regional Sales Manager for Wushthof Trident Cutlery Co.

ROSE BARKER Manager at Crate. Ranks high on the best staff all-around foodie!

DAVID BAUER Seafood Manager of the South Hills Market District and our "go-to guy"

KARLA CONTRERAS Born in El Salvador; Spanish influence of Central America is reflected in her food. As Food Marketing Manager of Market District in Shadyside, KARLA demonstrates a wide variety of Mexican products in her cooking

JOSEPH CERTO Received his BS in Culinary Management and has ACF Certification. He has a catering business, The Borrowed Chef and works closely with Chris Fennimore on the food segments on WQED.

JIMMY D (D'ALESSANDRO) He has worked at Giant Eagle since 1976. Starting at the deli, he got an apprenticeship and he has been in the meat room ever since. He is a butcher at Market District in Village Square. He knows meat and he cooks. He's our go to man in the meat department.

DAVE DESIMONE Wine writer for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Dave hosts a Wine Cellar Show on KQV radio. DAVID DESIMONE is Senior Vice President of Operations and General Counsel for The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust where he manages real estate development, capital projects, theater operations and more.

JOHN ELD Has been affiliated with the Society of Wine Educators and has served as Chairman of the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Wine Society. Along with a 20-year broadcasting career, he has hosted a radio program "John Eld's World of Wine."

BILL FULLER is Corporate Chef of big Burrito Group; restaurants include Casbah, Soba, Umi, Eleven, Kaya and Mad Mex. Stanch supporter of the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture and Penn's Corner. Multi-winner of "Steel Chef" competition at CRATE.

LORI KARAVOLIS Lori found out in 1999 here son, was allergic to all glutens. She had to learn to bake gluten-free from scratch because there were no prepackaged mixes available to buy as there are today. She owned and operated a home-based bakery called Lori Bakes Gluten Free during the years 2003 -2005. Lori self-publishes her cookbooks. These cookbooks were written for all of the wonderful customers she came to know and whom she serviced during those 3 years in her bakery. She just opened at Gluten-Free Bakery in McDonald, PA

TONY KNIPLING "The Beer Man" is active in both the professional and amateur beer world. He is the Craft Brand Manager for Vecenie Distributing Co., Western PA's Premier Specialty Beer Wholesaler.

JEANNE LEWIS As owner of A Fare to Remember @Home, she has totally changed the direction of her business. Instead of catering, you can enjoy her cooking any day of the week, in the comfort of your own house. She does all the shopping, chopping and preparation for you. Her monthly menus are on line for you to select what you want for dinner.

SERGIO MARAGNI is a cooking instructor at Westmoreland County Community College and Community College of Allegheny County. . Having come from Italy, his cooking knowledge is in traditional, authentic Italian fare. He is a "Slow Food" advocate and is a firm believer in using the finest and freshest products for the best culinary results.

ANGELA MCATEER
Born and grew up in South Africa where she graduated from college as a teacher. She joined the South African Diplomatic service, after returning from a four year sojourn to Rome to visit her Italian relatives. Went to Bonn (West Germany) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) for her first two assignments. Married an American Diplomat and lived and taught in Washington, DC for a few years. Then began a second Foreign Service career as a spouse in Djibouti, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Rome (Italy). Now she delved into the regional cuisine, history, art and language of Italy. She has taught German, French and Italian. Has been teaching Italian hands-on cooking lessons for eight years.

LORETTA PAGANINI
Owner of Loretta Paganini's School of Cooking and ICASI (a division created for professionally trained chefs) located in the Cleveland area.

CAROL "DEARHEART" PASCUZZI
Cheese expert at Pennsylvania Macaroni on Penn Avenue on the Strip.

JEREMY REED
Chef/instructor at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, School of Culinary Arts and Culinary Management. Has worked in the kitchen with people such as Wolfgang Puck and Klaus Fredenrich. Has been teaching for over seven years in the food industry.

ROBERT SENDALL
Owner of All in Good Taste Productions is the "go to" man and sensational caterer to the stars. December 2006 Pittsburgh Magazine wrote a feature story on him. He makes an outstanding candy, Toffee Taboo, that we sell at CRATE.

RHONDA SCHULDT
Founder and owner of Passionate Food. Twenty years ago she was in the restaurant business but left for the corporate world. Now back to her true passion, Rhonda is a contributor and recipe developer/tester for Table Magazine, a publication showcasing Southwestern Pennsylvania and its countryside. In 2007 she created Local Goodness celebrate the bounty of seasonal, locally raised and produced food and to showcase the people who make it their life's work to bring it to our table. In '07 she launched and hosted a bi-weekly Local Goodness segment on KDKA's Pittsburgh Today Live that aired during the growing season. She is looking forward to the '08 harvest and more Local Goodness!

ROBIN SKIRBOLL
Her culinary adventures began at a very young age, working in the commercial kitchens of her parents' vegetarian cafes in Pittsburgh, PA. Certified by the Culinary Institute of America, Robin balanced her early cooking endeavors with traditional French techniques and a variety of other cuisines, with a focus on Mediterranean, Southeast Asian and health conscious cooking styles.

CRATE STAFF: Teach all Lunch and Learn Classes as well other classes throughout the Spring and Summer season

ROSEMARY BARKER also teaching All-Clad Basics 101
KAREN CAHALL also teaching I DO Want to Cook
MARLENE DEGEORGE also teaching Dinner (on the Deck)
LINDA MASON also teaching Nutrolls and Beyond
JOYCE PITTMAN
LINDA WERNIKOFF also teaching All-Clad Basics 101

JANET LASZEWSKI will teach Pierohi
KIMBERLY FOWLER SMITH will join us for Nutroll and Beyond

DOROTHY TAGUE
Trained with Anna Kao for many years. Has a BA degree in education and taught high school for 12 years. Is owner of a cooking school in the Friendship/Bloomfield area, Chop, Wok and Talk!

RANDY TOZZIE, Market District's Food Marketing Manager, always serving food with a smile at the south hills store!

LINDA WERNIKOFF
Owner/Director for twenty-nine years of Crate.

SANDY WONCHEK, founder of Baby Suppers™. She promotes do-it-yourself gourmet baby foods using organic ingredients.