Thursday, March 18th
Chef Ron Duprat

Executive Chef
Latitudes on the Beach
"Top Chef: Las Vegas" Competitor

After twenty-seven days of traveling, covering over seven hundred nautical miles on a boat from Haiti, Ron Duprat used his survival skills and began creating different dishes, learned from his Haitian grandmother the journey to America. Duprat’s passion for cooking was originated as a means of channeling the passion that he possessed and a way out of poverty.

The interest in all aspects of the culinary art has spurred Duprat to develop his cuisine through the years by traveling around the world learning about different cultures and cuisines. Chef Duprat created menus for dignitaries, Heads of State

Duprat has appeared with some of The Food Network Star at The Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival. An extensive period at The Montauk Yacht Club in Long Island, New York. While serving as the Executive Chef of the Montauk Yacht Club, Ron Duprat led his team to receive The Montauk Chowder Competition Light House Grill “The Best of the Best Award” for three consecutive years and top 10 and best place in the us Mexico and the Caribbean.

"Some of my earliest memories are of cooking alongside my grandmother in Haiti and after the journey to the United States I remember cooking the fish we caught to survived. We would cook fresh produce from my Father Gardens, simmering sauces, and seasonal herbs that can still conjure up memories of standing alongside my Grandmother as we worked in the kitchen together. The unique tastes, smells and feelings, created alongside my Grandmother, are things that cannot be taught in a sterile classroom but is learned by immersion , it comes with territory, as food is not only designed to nourish us, but serve as a life long memories."

Download Recipes from Chef Ron Duprat

Friday, March 19th
Chef Elgin Woodman

Executive Chef
A Joy Wallace

Born in Lima Peru, Elgin Woodman began her cooking career in her home’s kitchen at the age of 12. As television viewing was not encouraged in her household, she slyly offered to sort beans and rice with her housekeeper, sneaking in an hour or two of her favorite Spanish Soap Operas. Her novella watching lent its way to the occasional sampling of cooking shows, which had her seated in the right place to begin experimenting with recipes.

After high school, Elgin had the opportunity to extensively travel the world with her family. Each stop contributed another flavor to her already developing palette. Her new found passion for travel combined with her love of food, logically guided her career path to the Hospitality Industry. Enrolled at Florida International University, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management in 1993.

During this time she completed an internship with a large hotel chain in Brazil. It was her days training in the kitchen, where she felt most at home. The hustle and bustle of the Chefs during dinner service was both exciting and attractive to her. She was only washing and chopping vegetables at this point, but that was more than enough exercise to feed her desire to learn more. This experience returned her to Miami to acquire a second degree in Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales University.

It was in 1997 that Chef Elgin set up her home at A Joy Wallace. Off premise catering seemed to have everything she was looking for in a career. At last, she had found her niche. In her beginnings with AJWCP, a party for two hundred was a great challenge. Now after 11 years, producing a seated gala for a thousand is performed with precision and ease. Reflecting upon her childhood memories of watching the stars while she cooked, today she is actually preparing meals for them.

Recently, Elgin was published in a new cookbook called “Inside the Recipe Box of the Catering Chef”. She was chosen by the International Caterer’s Association to be one of the eleven top catering chefs in the country. Her seventeen page spread includes excerpts from an interview, multiple food photos and ten of her favorite and cutting edge recipes. Her culinary creations have also been displayed in the new Art of Celebration South Florida coffee table book that showcases fabulous events.

Chef Elgin’s culinary expertise has also led to another great honor. She was named as one of three finalists for the International Caterer’s Association’s Chef of the Year 2008.

Download Recipes from Chef Elgin Woodman

Saturday, March 20th
Richard Hales

Executive Chef
Sakaya Kitchen

Sakaya Kitchen is now open in midtown Miami and is unlike any concept currently in the Miami market. Sakaya Kitchen is a fast-casual Asian-inspired organic conscious restaurant. It meets the demand for alternatives to traditional Asian restaurants with a menu of nutritious Asian “comfort foods.” Korean style BBQ, fresh noodle boxes, and Filipino egg rolls are among the variety of dishes offered. The creator of Sakaya Kitchen is Richard Hales who graduated from the French Culinary Institute in NYC and cooked under numerous world renowned chefs, namely Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

After a move to Miami in 2001 Hales became the Asian Chef of the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel. After a short time as Asian Chef Hales became Michelle Bernstein’s Sommelier at the award winning Azul Restaurant. Hales moved from Azul in 2006 to become Corporate Wine Director of the flagship Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City. Hales has now come full circle by opening his own restaurant and returning to cooking – his true passion. Food is the passion but Sakaya means “Sake Shop” in Japanese so an extensive list of premium Sake will be offered.

We encourage you to come and try Sakaya Kitchen and see for yourself what all the buzz is about. Sakaya Kitchen, with its fresh pure food, is boldly changing the face of the typical Asian eatery.

Sakaya Kitchen is located in Suite 125 on Buena Vista Avenue between NE 36th and NE 34th Street, in the Shops at Midtown Miami, Miami, Florida. For more information on Sakaya Kitchen please contact info@sakayakitchen.com or call (305) 576-8096. Website: www.sakayakitchen.com.

Download Recipes from Chef Richard Hales

Sunday, March 21st
Ivo Mazzon

Executive Chef
Joey’s Italian Café

In December 2008, Joey Goldman and Thea Goldman opened Joey’s, a contemporary Italian café, encompassing 75 seats inside and on a charming al fresco terrace, in the heart of Wynwood, at 2506 N.W. 2nd Avenue. They needed a very special chef to oversee the fresh, healthy, Italian cuisine served at Joey's, the first new restaurant to open in Wynwood since the area began its transformation into a hip arts district a decade ago - and Venice native Ivo Mazzon, a talented 31-year-old chef, was a perfect fit. The restaurant and its talented chef created an immediate buzz, including a prestigious citing as one of the top new U.S. pizza restaurants in Food & Wine magazine, rave reviews locally and national coverage in Wall Street Journal, and Boston Globe, among many others.

Italian native Ivo Mazzon discovered he loved to cook at a tender age, helping his mom and grandmother gather fresh vegetables and herbs from their garden and transforming them into memorable family meals. When he was still a youngster, he worked part time for a family friend, a chef from Puglia, liked it immediately and knew that was his calling. Following that path, he graduated with a culinary degree from the Cooking Institute in Treviso, Italy in 1998, armed with great technique and an enduring passion for the fresh, healthy, simple ingredients, and time honored recipes that make Italian cuisine so popular. From 1998 – 2001, Chef Mazzon furthered his culinary education, apprenticing at the five star Hotel Due Torri Baglione in Verona, Italy, and Fonda Milano in Milan, among others. He came to the U.S.A. in 2002, and through 2006, served as executive chef at Spris Restaurant in Hartford, Connecticut, where he perfected his sublime thin crust pizza. In 2007, Mazzon relocated to Miami, serving as executive chef at Tiramisu on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road, prior to joining the family at Joey’s Italian Café. At Joey’s, Mazzon has created a critically-acclaimed, affordably priced menu of delicious, healthy, classic Italian dishes including an array of innovative thin crusted pizzas, beautiful antipasti and salads, savory seafood, meats, pastas and daily blackboard specials, which are crafted from seasonal and sustainable ingredients, including fresh produce supplied by local purveyors.

Joey’s, located at 2506 N.W. 2nd Avenue, in Wynwood, serves lunch Monday – Friday, and dinner Monday - Saturday. There is ample street parking. Phone: 305-438-0488: www.joeyswynwood.com.

Download Recipes from Chef Ivo Mazzon