Chef Jill’s skills in the kitchen stem from the years she spent as a child cooking creative meals for her family. Although Chef Jill initially pursued a career in a technology training and high-tech sales, she returned to the kitchen to realize her dreams of becoming a chef.
Sara Haas (RD, LDN)
Licensed / Registered Dietitian, Personal Chef
Licensed / Registered Dietitian, Personal Chef
Chef Jeffrey works on menu development, sourcing, staff training, technical resources and providing cooking instruction for the firm’s corporate clients. Chef Jeffrey's food relies heavily on seasonal, local and natural ingredients.
Chef Ryan is co-founder of Centered Chef Food Studios. His talent and enthusiasm for food along with his fun-loving attitude have allowed him the distinctive honor of working alongside many talented chefs. Chef Ryan finds his inspiration for many of the innovative dishes he creates from his travels and his unique training. His cuisine captures the flavors of European and American foods, while offering an unexpected straightforward, albeit healthy, twist.
She has been a registered and licensed Dietitian since 2002 and has worked as a dietitian in both health care facilities and health clubs. Sara is a member of Dietetic Association, Chicago Dietetic Association, and Dietitians in Nutrition Support Group. She is Adjunct Faculty for Kendall College, teaching nutrition classes. Sara leads a highly active lifestyle which includes running and cycling.
Realizing not all of her dreams had been fulfilled, Sara set her sights on culinary school. She attended The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, Le Cordon Bleu Program and graduated at the top of her class. She began her career at Trotter's To Go, a carry-out and catering operation of the world renowned Chicago chef Charlie Trotter. At Trotter's, Sara learned the importance of quality product, professionalism and excellence working under Executive Chef John Vermigglio.
Sara grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her love of food inspired her to attend Indiana University and earn a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. After that, Sara went on to complete a year-long internship at University of Massachusetts, where she worked on sports nutritional counseling for the men’s and women’s collegiate teams, nutritional counseling for inpatient units at Bay State Memorial Hospital and menu development and implementation with Longview Public Middle.
Chef Jeffrey worked as the commissary manager for Outpost Natural Foods, a multiple-location food store in Milwaukee focusing on natural and certified organic foods. Chef Jeffrey was responsible for overseeing all of the prepared foods in the deli departments and cafes within each store, in addition to managing the catering department.
From there, Chef Jeffrey worked as a corporate chef for Sodexho, the worlds largest foodservice provider. His post was at GE Medical Systems headquarters in Waukesha, where Chef Jeffrey was responsible for running multiple kitchen units across the GE campus, in addition to executing high-end catering for corporate clients.
After earning a Bachelor's Degree in English and spending over 9 years in the printing industry, Chef Jeffrey started his culinary career at Kendall College. Chef Jeffrey went on to train with notable chefs at the American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin, the Midwest’s only AAA Five-Diamond resort. He honed his skills working with a menu focusing on local ingredients in a gastro-pub restaurant.
Chef Ryan holds a bachelor's degree in public relations from Illinois State University and graduated at the top of his class from the culinary arts program at Kendall College. He regularly competes in marathons and triathlons, and is looking forward to Ironman Cozumel in 2009. In his free time, Chef Ryan enjoys mentoring with the not-for-profit organization, Pathways Seminars.
In addition to developing the menus and running the kitchen, Chef Ryan provides cooking instruction on healthy menus to corporate clients such as Sara Lee Corporation, Ameriprise Financial Services, Fitness Formula Corporation, Energy BBDO and IBM. Chef Ryan is a recurring guest on WGN TV's midday Lunchbreak segment. In this program, he showcases seasonal foods that can be prepared both easily and healthfully. Additionally, he works as a television chef and food stylist for Sara Lee Corporation, and has been featured on KATU-TV (ABC, Portland) and WOAI-TV (NBC, San Antonio), WSVN-TV (FOX, Miami).
Chef Ryan realized his passion for food while cooking at a restaurant during his undergraduate studies. After three years in sales management for a Fortune 500 company, Chef Ryan decided to re-direct his career to include his passion for cooking.
Chef Jill is an active mother of a 9-year old boy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University and participates in endurance sports. She’s enthusiastic about spreading the message of healthy eating to all communities, and is serving as a Team Mentor for the Cooking Up Change Healthy Cooking Contest, part of the Healthy Schools Campaign. She is also a board member of the Downtown Chicago chapter of the American Cancer Society.
In addition to her work at Centered Chef, Chef Jill is a media spokesperson, food stylist and consulting chef for Sara Lee Corporation. She has appeared nationally on Good Morning America (ABC), and locally on television stations throughout the country, including WMAQ-TV (NBC, Chicago), WGN (WB, Chicago), WJBK-TV (FOX, Detroit) and KATU-TV (ABC, Portland).
Chef Jill also teaches healthy cooking classes to small groups and corporate organizations. In this capacity, she has worked with the American Academy of Periodontists, Deloitte and Touche, Energy BBDO, and IBM.
After graduating Valedictorian of the Accelerated Culinary Arts program at Kendall College, Chef Jill co-founded Chef on Call Chicago, now Centered Chef Food Studios, with partner Chef Ryan Hutmacher. Chef Jill functions in a business development and event-planning role, helping clients determine which Centered Chef services will help them meet their goals.
He 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.
Sara is a personal chef and caterer with Centered Chef Food Studios. Inspired by her excitement and passion for healthy eating, she stands firmly behind the company philosophy of eating well to live well.
Sara returned to Chicago and passed the certification exam to become a licensed and registered dietitian. She went on to work as a Specialist in Clinical Nutrition for the University of Illinois Medical Center, followed by several years working as a Consultant Dietitian for Roche Dietitians of Riverside, Illinois.
Chef Jill Houk
Chef Ryan Hutmacher
Chef Jeffrey Joslyn
Chef Jill continues her affiliation with Kendall College. She serves as Adjunct Faculty, teaching Kendall’s Intro to Catering course. She is also a member of the School of Business Advisory Board, whose mission is to transform students into globally-conscious decision-makers poised for leadership positions within service industries.