Chef Jonathan Kaldas
LIME proudly welcomes Chef Kaldas, a recent 2010 CIC grad and Garde Manger Chef at The Woodlands Inn, to our "Sweet Limers" portfolio. Look out for his October 2010 culinary LIME!
Born and raised in Charleston, SC , son to parents who were both born and raised in Egypt (mother from Alexandria, father from Cairo). His mother was the youngest of 9 and while being raised in Egypt, her role was to cook meals for the entire family. So her knowledge of cooking was instilled in him every day at a very early age. His father has a degree in chemistry from Millersville University in Pennsylvania, so he instilled in Jonathan his love of science and understanding the workings of common and uncommon actions in nature and synthetic actions.
He received a degree in Criminal Justice but after having a traumatic car accident which ended with a broken neck, pushed him to pursue his true love of cooking. He enrolled at the Culinary Institute of Charleston and began to study and compete vigorously. In his first semester, he entered the National Honey Board Competition and received a silver in the pastry portion with his Orange Blossom Baklava. Shortly afterwards, he started to work with Chef Aaron Deal of Tristan, where he honed his skills in Garde Manger. He was asked to join the American Culinary Federation Competition team for the Greater Charleston chapter. He worked alongside some of the most talented culinary students in the Charleston area. The team went on to win a bronze medal. Chef Jonathan has worked at Et Cetera Gourmet on Daniel Island, SC as their Tapas Chef and Manager. He received a 3.5 star rating out of 4 from the Post & Courier. While working at Et Cetera, he continued to enter ACF team competitions, winning the silver medal at the State Competition. He began working at The Woodlands Inn as the Garde Manger Chef and developed menu items for both the culinary and pastry menu.
Chef Kaldas has worked alongside Bobby Flay, Wylie Dufresne, Eli Kirshtein and Richard Blais.
His continued interest and desire has developed into a love for alternative methods of preparations of food, utilizing molecular gastronomy not to dominate his food but to improve the taste, texture, and presentation of the food while still remembering that quality is still the most important ingredient.
Chef Kaldas can be reached at jonathankaldas@hotmail.com
Born and raised in Charleston, SC , son to parents who were both born and raised in Egypt (mother from Alexandria, father from Cairo). His mother was the youngest of 9 and while being raised in Egypt, her role was to cook meals for the entire family. So her knowledge of cooking was instilled in him every day at a very early age. His father has a degree in chemistry from Millersville University in Pennsylvania, so he instilled in Jonathan his love of science and understanding the workings of common and uncommon actions in nature and synthetic actions.
He received a degree in Criminal Justice but after having a traumatic car accident which ended with a broken neck, pushed him to pursue his true love of cooking. He enrolled at the Culinary Institute of Charleston and began to study and compete vigorously. In his first semester, he entered the National Honey Board Competition and received a silver in the pastry portion with his Orange Blossom Baklava. Shortly afterwards, he started to work with Chef Aaron Deal of Tristan, where he honed his skills in Garde Manger. He was asked to join the American Culinary Federation Competition team for the Greater Charleston chapter. He worked alongside some of the most talented culinary students in the Charleston area. The team went on to win a bronze medal. Chef Jonathan has worked at Et Cetera Gourmet on Daniel Island, SC as their Tapas Chef and Manager. He received a 3.5 star rating out of 4 from the Post & Courier. While working at Et Cetera, he continued to enter ACF team competitions, winning the silver medal at the State Competition. He began working at The Woodlands Inn as the Garde Manger Chef and developed menu items for both the culinary and pastry menu.
Chef Kaldas has worked alongside Bobby Flay, Wylie Dufresne, Eli Kirshtein and Richard Blais.
His continued interest and desire has developed into a love for alternative methods of preparations of food, utilizing molecular gastronomy not to dominate his food but to improve the taste, texture, and presentation of the food while still remembering that quality is still the most important ingredient.
Chef Kaldas can be reached at jonathankaldas@hotmail.com
