At a young age in his south suburban Chicago hometown, Chef Adam started his career as a dishwasher. Working in restaurants led him to a junior college culinary arts program nearby. Learning more about options the hospitality industry offered, he soon began his overseas adventures.
He started his climb as a private cook on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean Sea that sailed through Greece, France, Italy, and Spain. Soon after that, getting accepted as an official US exchange student to Germany, he spent a year overseas training in language, culture, hospitality, food, and beverage. Falling in love with Europe and its adventures, he spent another year in Zurich, Switzerland working for a 5 star property.
Gaining a larger appetite to learn and grow professionally, he found positions on cruise ships traveling the world. He then moved to Asia where he would spend the next 16 years working in 5 star hotels/resorts. This then led to him moving into an educators role in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management since 2017.
Parallel pathways such as learning and working side-by-side is a passion from this former hotelier. Having management positions all over the world has fine tuned his leadership skills over his decades long industry career. Entrepreneurship and managing operational systems are skill sets that he passionately passes onto his students. He feels financial acumen, problem solving, and paying attention to details are amongst the most important skills to develop while managing hospitality businesses.
He holds a Master's in Hospitality Management (MS), and is a Certified Executive Chef (CEC), and a Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE).
Countries where Chef Adam has lived and worked
Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Thailand, Sultanate of Oman, Malaysia, China, South Korea
He has traveled to over 80 countries.
Chef Adam loves to learn about languages, cuisines, and cultures. He also enjoys sharing stories about his past journeys.
He speaks German, Thai, Mandarin-Chinese, and working Spanish.
He is an avid home brewer and continues to learn about fermentation of food and alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages.
He is currently studying to be a Certified Cicerone which will enhance his knowledge of beer history, traditions, styles, and the industry around this popular beverage.
