Keith grew up in his family’s market and deli, a business that stayed in the family for nearly a hundred years. That’s where he learned to cook, making sandwiches, soups, pizza and stromboli alongside his parents, and where his love of cooking started. He didn’t think it would be his career until later: when the recession left him laid off and looking for a change, he went back to the thing that had always been his passion.

Keith’s professional cooking life started on the line in Miami Beach, on sauté, grill and sauce at BLT Steak, and grew into fifteen-plus years across fine dining, private clubs, wellness retreats and production kitchens turning out thousands of meals a week. Along the way he became a trusted produce buyer for James Beard Award winner Michael Schwartz’s restaurants, building the farmer relationships that still shape how he cooks: garden-to-table, seasonal, and happy to let great ingredients lead.

At Mendocino Chef he cooks, produces and hosts the events, and he’s usually the first person you’ll talk to. He obsesses over everything around the plate: the timing, the setting, the welcome at the door, and the feeling that someone thought of everything.

He studied business at Northern Arizona University, and years later went to culinary school at Luzerne County Community College. It’s why he can talk you through a menu and a budget in the same call.

Along the way

Miami’s kitchens

Keith cut his teeth at Miami Beach’s BLT Steak, then joined Michael Schwartz’s Genuine Hospitality Group: he helped open Harry’s Pizzeria, moved on to Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, and sourced produce for the group, buying directly from farmers for multiple restaurants, openings and pop-ups.

Retreat centers

Keith has lived and cooked at retreat centers around the country: a hot springs retreat in the Oregon Cascades, an ecological and meditation center in Hawaii, and a yoga retreat center in northern Michigan. It’s why our retreat food is built around the program day, not the other way round.

Private clubs & banquets

At a national golf club and a historic hunting lodge, he led private dining, tournaments and banquet events for 200-plus guests: the production discipline behind our big-table events.

Love and Vegetables

In 2012 he founded Love and Vegetables, a pay-what-you-can pop-up café that grew into farm-to-table dinners, retreats and a nationwide plant-based chef network.

Wellness & scale

As an executive chef in wellness food production, he ran production of thousands of meals a week and launched a catering division: real dietary needs, cooked well at scale.

“Keith was very creative and passionate. He was always interested in using the freshest ingredients, many of which he foraged himself locally.”
Michael Schwartz, James Beard Award–winning chef, in Biscayne Times

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