chefs

Cat DeOrio

JD1 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:01:00 GMT

Jimmy Dean® Chef Catherine DeOrio is a leading food expert who regularly appears on network affiliates and media outlets across the country, including WMAQ-TV (NBC, Chicago), WUSA-TV (CBS, Washington, D.C.) and WJBK-TV (FOX, Detroit), to share her culinary expertise. Chef DeOrio is also a food/trends contributor to In Touch Weekly and was recently published in Thirsty? Chicago, a hip new guide on where to find the best drinks in Chicago.

Growing up in a large Italian family in a suburb of Chicago, she learned to cook at the foot of a true master: her Nana Kay. It was then that she developed a deep appreciation of the power and pleasure of great meals, which she honed while living in Venice, Italy.

Chef DeOrio attended the prestigious Kendall College culinary school in Chicago, Illinois, and has worked with nationally renowned chefs Gene Kato of Japonais and James Beard Award-winning Tony Mantuano of Spiaggia. Prior to Kendall College, Chef DeOrio was an attorney who, fortunately for our stomachs, decided to pursue her true passion — cooking.

RYAN HUTMACHER

JD1 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:00:00 GMT

Jimmy Dean & Chef Ryan Hutmacher's talent and enthusiasm for food has taken him around the globe and allowed him the distinctive honor of working alongside many of the world's most recognized chefs. It is as a result of these travels and his unique training that Chef Hutmacher finds his inspiration for many of the innovative dishes he creates that capture the flavors of European and American cuisine.

While working at a restaurant during college, Chef Hutmacher realized his passion for cooking and the food service industry. The fast-paced life as a chef and the joy he experienced by satisfying consumers' palates led him to change his career path and pursue a career in culinary arts. With apprenticeships in France at renowned restaurants, including La Cerisaie, Auberge de la Valloire and Le Moulin, a chef extraordinaire was born!

Today, in addition to applying his culinary skills to his role as a chef at Jimmy Dean, Chef Hutmacher is co-founder of Chef on Call Chicago, a boutique-style catering and personal chef company with a focus on customizing nutritious meals for clients. When the kitchen gets too hot, Chef Hutmacher likes to hit the road and brainstorm new recipes while training for one of the marathons or triathlons he competes in annually.

In addition to graduating at the top of his class from the culinary arts program at Kendall College, Chef Hutmacher also holds a bachelor's degree in public relations from Illinois State University.

JILL HOUK

JD1 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:58:00 GMT

Jimmy Dean® Chef Jill Houk is a food connoisseur. However, one thing she loves more than cooking is sharing her passion for food with others through regular appearances on television stations throughout the country, including WMAQ-TV (NBC, Chicago), WJBK-TV (FOX, Detroit) and KATU-TV (ABC, Portland).

Chef Houk's savvy skills in the kitchen stem from the years spent as a child developing creative uses for flavors and preparing meals for her family. Although Chef Houk pursued a career in a different field, her heart couldn't resist the call of the kitchen, where she returned to realize her dreams of being a chef.

Today, in addition to her position at Jimmy Dean, Chef Houk is a co-founder of Chef on Call Chicago, a private chef service where she applies her food knowledge and know-how to prepare and serve decadent meals to dinner parties and small gatherings. Chef Houk also spends time teaching basic cooking skills to people transitioning out of homelessness at a community shelter in her hometown of Chicago.

Chef Houk graduated at the top of her class in the accelerated culinary arts program at Kendall College in Chicago. She also holds bachelor of arts from Northwestern University.