Beth Lanni
Director of Pies & Plates' Culinary Academy and Staff Instructor
Believe it or not but Beth is a retired eye doctor - with a passion for cooking! Beth has been a member of Pies and Plates Culinary Team for about six years! She started as part of our kitchen team, then took over the management and development of our Prepped & Ready prepared meals program. While she's still involved in our kitchen Beth's main focus now is managing our Culinary Academy - and regularly teaching classes!
Cindee Murphy
Owner of Pies & Plates and Staff Instructor
Cindee will tell you her favorite pasttime is playing with her three grandchildren but she's pretty passionate about cooking as well! After having practiced law for 12 years, Cindee switched careers and opened Pies & Plates in 2003. Her passion for cooking and her love for food are reflected in Pies & Plates' restaurant menu and she can often be found experimenting with recipes in the kitchen. Because she's kept very busy running the business she offers mostly classes that are "short and SWEET" like our Decadent and Delish series.
Master Chef Sigi Osicki
Guest Instructor
Chef Sigi Osicki is an internationally recognized food & beverage expert. Born in East Prussia, he apprenticed at the age of fourteen in the Tradeschool in Essen, Germany. After graduation he worked in various countries in Europe until 1964 when he went to New York where he was Chef Gardemanger for the Denmark Pavillion. After working several years in hotels and restaurants in New York, Sigi became the Director of Food & Beverage for 32 restaurants, bars, cafeterias and flight kitchens for American Airlines (Sky Chefs). He has won a gold medal at the New York Coliseum Gourmet Exposition and gold and silver medals at the Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany. He and his wife of 42 years spend their summers in France where they have a beautiful home in Roscoff, Brittany. Every summer includes trips to various areas rich in culinary delights where Sigi continues to expand his life long search of culinary excellence.
Maralee McGowen
Owner Harbor Seafood, Meats and More
Guest Instructor
Maralee McGowen is pur local expert when it comes to comes cooking up Florida seafood! Maralee regularly publishes recipes in her newsletter and is always sharing cooking tips with her customers! Now she's bringing her expertise to Pies & Plates! I can't think of a more qualified person to teach about purchasing, handling and preparation of Florida seafood! Harbor Seafood Meats and More is located at 3762 Tamiami Trail in Port Charlotte! We highly recommend it to you! It's a great source for fresh seafood, meats and more!
Layne Prescott
Guest Instructor
Layne comes from a long line of great southern cooks, married into a family of great cooks and loves to prepare all kinds of food! Her regional specialties include guava cobbler, chicken & dumplings, and chicken & yellow rice. Her mother had to learn 'Cajun' cooking as her father was from Louisiana, so she grew up eating and preparing lots of spicy food. At home she loves to explore and experiment with new techniques and recipes! She grew up in her mother's home town of Arcadia, but spent about six years living in the Azores. She is a fifth generation Floridian! She has three children, all married and settled. She characterizes her cooking style as simple southern comfort food. She has lots to share, so don't miss a class!
Laurie Cruley
Owner, Fresh by Laurie Siesta Key
Guest Instructor
Laurie Cruley has been cooking with fresh, natural ingredients for 20 years. She started cooking at age 13 and won several local awards inspiring her to attend Johnson & Wales University where she graduated Magna Cum Lauda. She interned under Chef Franz Buck at the Five Star Cloister Restort in Sea Island, GA. After culinary school she received a post graduate scolarship and was one of the first students to atttend The Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners! She hunted truffles, learned from pastafarians, used the freshest of ingredients, and hung around with some Italians who made wine, cheese and prosciutto. She worked with Chef Gino Angellini at The Five Star Grand Hotel Des Bains in Riccione, Italy. She came back to the states and cooked and taught as a chef from Chicago, IL to Orlando, FL. Laurie now works enjoys cooking for her own business Fresh by Laurie which offer private dining, catering and cooking classes. Not only will she be cooking for us this fall, she'll also be teaching classes at the new Viking Culinary Center opening this fall in Sarasota.
SFC Rene J. Marquis
Guest Instructor
SFC Rene J. Marquis was born in Maine and attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Rene is a certified executive chef, a certified culinary educator, a personal certified executive chef, a certified Culinary Administration and was inducted into the American Academy of Chefs in 2005. He is one of the highetst Certified Chefs in the military and is currently stationed at McDill Airforce Base serving as an Enlisted Aide for the Commander of United States Central Command. Rene has competed in many national and international competitions and today more often acts as a judge than a contestant. His full bio is really impressive and we encourage you to click here to read it! Rene brings a military bearing laced with humor to his entertaining cooking classes!
Gerlinde Kohl
Guest Instructor
Gerlinde's interest in Indian food started years ago when she first traveled to India. She enjoyed the country's cuisine and different regional styles of seasoning and food preperation. Spices and aromatics are the very heart of Indian cooking. Many dishes require an entire day's preparation because of the cutting and pounding of spices. She has found many shortcuts to prepare simple dishes for everyday eating that can be learned by interested cooks! She would love to have you come and cook with her!
Sue Taylor
Guest Instructor
Sue Taylor and her husband Bob, spent many years working abroad where they developed a taste for many local cuisines, particularly dishes from the Middle-East, Indian Sub-Continent and Asia. During 2007-2008, they lived in Vietnam, the perfect opportunity for Sue to take cooking classes on varying regional cuisines from chefs in Hanoi, Hue, and Hoi An, Vietnam and Luang Prabang and Cambodia. Fresh vegetables and fruits are the centerpiece of these Asian meals with meat used sparingly. Great attention is paid to the ying/yang of the meal where dishes are artfully presented with a balance of hot and cool dishes. Once you learn the four basic flavors incorporated in each entree (salt, sweet, hot and sour) you can easily create your own Vietnamese or Cambodian versions of Asian dishes. Join Sue in unlocking the keys to these tasty, healthy cuisines.
Carol Boston
Guest Instructor
Carol Boston has an associates degree in Culinary Arts and lots of food service experience including acting as food service director for the St. Lawrence Catholic Schools lunch program and as a substitute culinary arts instructor for Fresco High School. Her passions are golfing and baking.
Joe Wiellette
Guest Instructor
Joe is a homegrown cook who started learning kitchen skills at a very young age from his Danish and Italian grandmothers. Joe has a Masters degree in Chemistry and was a Fulbright Scholar in New Zeland and spent his working career in a number of different fields while always watching for opportunties to cook for his friends, family and co-workers.
Cathy Beatty
Guest Instructor
Cathy Beatty is a wonderful homegrown Italian cook! Growing up with her family all around in New Jersey, her Nana coached her well! She has a wonderful enthusiam for cooking and sharing her knowlege. Come join her in her kitchen adventures!
Fred Tarrazi
Guest Instructor
Fred was born in Brooklyn, New York and has a wife and two daughters. He started out in retailing Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals, but changed direction after 10 years and became a New York City Detective! He worked in the N.Y.P.D. Intelligence Division for 24 years,working on investigations that involved terrorism, homicides, organized crime and threats to both local and federal officials. He also maintained liaison with 28 foreign nations accredited to the United Nations and their intelligence units. He has always had a special passion for food, he grew up watching his mother in the kitchen, and loves to share his knowledge and talents with others!
Ghadir Irsaid
Guest Instructor
Ghadir Irsaid grew up in Palestine but came to live in the United States about 10 years ago. She has a bachelors degree in civil engineering and a passion for cooking! She has three hungry boys and a husband to feed at home so she gets a lot of practice! Ghadir's Middle Eastern cooking classes include a generous measure of history and culture from her homeland.
Jennifer Reynolds
Owner, Sauce Goddess Specialty Foods
Guest Instructor
After years of cooking for her friends and making incredibly delicious ribs and chicken, Jennifer decided to start Sauce Goddess in 2000. Jennifer's goal is to change the way people think about cooking. Make it fun & easy, make it with good ingredients and make it obscenely delicious! Cooking is really creating smiles and good times with food. Jennifer can be found teaching cooking classes throughout California. She specializes in lean cooking, but has been known to offer some great bacon recipes as well.
Chef Bill Dryburgh
Guest Instructor
Chef Bill Dryburgh is a graudate of the Webster Academy as a master Chinese Chef. He has demonstrated his skills all over the country and has won numerous awards and competions. Chef Dryburgh was last years Main Street Punta Gorda Coconut Craze Days First Plance winner with his Coconut Chicken recipe. A class with Chef Dryburgh is always a real treat!
Mary Oakley
Guest Instructor
Mary Oakley was born in Colorado and raised in Oklahoma. She has lived in 6 states with her husband and 4 children. She has 3 grandchildren, 6 little dogs, 1 big cat and a parrot! Mary loves to cook! Some of her other hobbies include gardening, stained glass, mosiac, scuba and water activities. She is a woman that loves to keep busy! Come join her in her culinary adventures!
Dawn Souto
Dawn Dishes It Out Food Blog Writer
Guest Instructor
Dawn Souto is a Certified Health Counselor and creator of Dawn Dishes It Out Food Blog. She is a wife and mother of two young children and recognizes the importance of eating well. Empowering her clients to transform their health through lifestyle and diet choices, she believes healthy cooking doesn't have to be complicated. Teaching clients the value of shopping and eating locally is something this recent New York transplant takes seriously and she really practices what she preaches. Saturday mornings she can be found at the Punta Gorda Farmer's Market and she is already a member of a local CSA. She is looking forward to Dishing It Out at Pies & Plates!
Laurie Nienhaus
Authur and Play Write
Guest Instructor
Laurie's first book, AND THEN IT WAS TEATIME, was released in the fall of 2007 and is a compilation of excerpts from literature where authors threw their thoughts, their characters and/or the action of their story into the tea hour. Her children's teatime tale, NANA'S SOCKS, was released in early 2008. Laurie is currently working on her third book, STEEPED: THE WANDERINGS & DELIGHTS OF A TEA ADVENTURER. Laurie is a public speaker. Arriving in vintage reproduction attire and with presentations such as Tea - What On Earth Were They Thinking?!, The Silliness of Vintage Fashion, and Remembering Miss Millay, her audiences, for well over seven years, have been hugely entertained while learning something of the past. Check out her web site http://laurienienhaus.com/
Debby & Tristin Murphy
Staff Instructors
Debby brings a fresh young energy and a sweet tooth to her cooking classes! She's the first to admit she's still learning the ropes in the kitchen but she has some killer favorites like Tiramisu and Baklava that she loves to share! Debby manages the front of the house in our restaurant and is our catering manager! She's always brings a refreshing energy to her classes!
You'll often find Debby teaming up to teach with her husband Tristin Murphy who has been the head cook at Pies & Plates for several years now. Pies & Plates' staff refer to Tristin as our "Soup Nazi" and he gets credit for helping us win the 2009 Reader's Choice Award for Best Restaurant for Soups! It's quite a hoot when Tristin and Debby teach a class together! Watch for more classes from Debby and Tristin in the future!
Madam Hooch and
Professor Sybil Trelawney
Guest Wizards from Hogwart's Academy
Hogwart's Academy instructors Madam Hooch (Quidich Coach and Broom Flight Instructor) and Professor Sybil Trelawney (Divination Instructor) have become internationally known in recent years due to the international fame of Harry Potter a student at Hogwart's Academy.
These two Hogwarts Academy instructors are also wiz's in the kitchen and always conjure up a magical culinary experience for our Muggle students. Our Hogwart's menu includes dishes like Spicy Bat Wings, Deviled Mice, Dragon's Breath Dip with Batwing Chips, Frog Spawn & Swamp Water Tea! Our Harry Potter Hogwart's Feast series of classes are designed for tweens (10 to 14-year olds).
Above: Professor Trelawney get's an inspiration! Right: Madam Hooch checks for seagulls before flying back to Hogwarts Academy. A recent collision with a diving pelican nearly knocked her off her broomstick.
