WINE, BEER & SPIRITS STAGE

Sponsored by Tasters Guild International

These tutored seminars will showcase wines from specific countries and regions.  Joe Borrello of Tasters Guild International will host our wine stage and conduct seminars and tastings along with specialists from other esteemed organizations, attracting both wine connoisseurs and adventurous novices to the world of wines, beers and spirits.

Joe Borrello

Joe is the President of Tasters Guild, International, a consumer / trade-based Food and Wine Appreciation Society.  He is an accomplished author and publisher / editor of the nationally distributed magazine - Tasters Guild Journal.  Joe is a Certified Retail Marketing and Media Consultant for the Food Service and Wine Industries as well as a frequent lecturer and classroom instructor on "Cooking with Wine".  He has organized and hosted several food and wine tours through the wine regions of France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, California, New York and Michigan.  Among his other accomplishments, Joe is also a frequent and reliable wine and food source for media throughout the Midwest.

Michael Schafer

Michael is a charismatic wine educator, consultant and sommelier who entertains while teaching.  His humorous and fun approach to wine is reflected in his trademark phrase, "I taste bad wine so you don't have to."  Michael has studied wine around the world for over 25 years.  He has been featured on CNN, ABC, WTVS-public television, the Detroit News and the Oakland Press.  As an instructor at the International Culinary School of the Art Institute of Michigan, he teaches classes in Viticulture & Enology and in Food & Beverage Operations Management.  Michael judges in international competitions and has taught classes with Madame Charity Suczek at Le Petite Cordon Bleu School of Haute Cuisine.  He is also a board member of the Detroit Wine Organization, which is a non-profit group dedicated to wine education and children's charities.

David Stanley

David Stanley has over 20 years of professional experience in fine wines, specialty beverages and quality foods.  At the young age of 15, he had his first unglamorous step in the field as a bus boy for a local restaurant.  After graduation he took his years of kitchen experience west working for a bustling winery in Napa, California, where he was "bit by the bug" and became a consummate foodie and beverage enthusiast.  David moved on to take a  Food & Beverage Manager position with a prominent hotel chain in Oregon, which gave him the chance to bring his passion for well paired food and beverage to the public at large.  David eventually made his way back to Grand Rapids where he spent a few years working in the wine and beverage retail field downtown before returning to restaurant management for several years.  He joined the Meijer team in 2007 as the Wine & Beverage Steward.

MEIJER FOOD STAGE

Angus Campbell of the Secchia Institute of Culinary Arts will host our food cooking stage and conduct seminars, demonstrations and workshops along with several outstanding chefs from the area.  The Meijer Food Stage will be furnished by Williams Kitchen.

Angus Campbell

A City and Guilds Master Craftsman, with over 29 years of experience, Chef Angus Campbell was born and raised on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland.  Beginning his professional career, Chef Campbell worked at the Bahamas Hotel Training College where he became the Department Chair for their Culinary Arts Department before moving to Grand Rapids where he currently teaches in the Culinary Arts program as Chef-Instructor in the Heritage Restaurant for Lunch Service.

Sue Dow

Known for her successful Cooking School, her international tasting / educational tours and advisor to countless retail and food service entities, Sue Dow now extends into new products and adventures for foodies everywhere.  Sue has always had a passion for food and eating healthy.  She is a self proclaimed chef and in the year 2000 began Sue Chef, a personal chef service, creating custom, healthy meals in the homes of her clients.  She has evolved from a personal chef to culinary consultant and recreational culinary educator.

Shari Steinbach

For the past 17 years Shari has worked as a dietitian in the grocery industry and has served as the Lead Corporate Dietitian for Meijer in Grand Rapids, Michigan since 2003.  She manages consumer health communication, community events, nutrition programs, and solution selling strategies with a team of three other dietitians.  Shari currently serves as the chair of the Supermarket Dietitian subgroup under the Food and Culinary Professionals dietetic practice group.

Scott Hunter

No stranger to the food service industry, Scott Hunter has worked in hotels and resorts throughout the United States.  His work as Executive Pastry Chef has lead him to several of the country's top 5-star properties, including the Mauni Lani Bay Hotel in Hawaii, The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, the re-opening of the Beverly Hills Hotel in California, and currently at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids.  Scott has been active in culinary competitions, earning ACF Gold, Silver and Bronze medals and two "Best of Show" awards.  Scott was also a member of the 1992 Team USA, Southwest Region.  While in Michigan, he has won the MSU Chocolate Competition five times and was invited to compete in the 2007 National Pastry Challenge in Nashville, TN.  Scott is a mentor to the Fruitport Michigan Pro-Start High School Cooking Competition -- helping the team win four consecutive titles and three top-five awards at the national level.

Ray Sierengowski

Chef Ray Sierengowski is one of the most innovative American Research Chefs working today and is as renowned for his well honed culinary skills as he is for his food science knowledge.  A native of Michigan, Sierengowski holds degrees in Culinary Arts and Food Science and has worked with and created products for Kellogg's, Vienna Beef and Sara Lee.  He is a food writer for Culinary and Food Science trade magazines and author of Fire in the Kitchen: A Cookbook for Couples, which is filled with hundreds of recipes that will make any night a romantic and delicious one.  Chef Ray is the Corporate Research Chef for Meijer and leads the food science and culinary innovation team.

Akihiro Kotani

Chef Kotani is from one of GR's Sister Cities, Omihachiman, Japan and is the Master Chef at Hotel New Omi in Japan.  Chef Kotani received the "Masters in the Modern Era" award in the Japanese Food Division from the governor of Kyoto in 2009.  He has mastered traditional knife working and other culinary techniques, while at the same time developing health-conscious low-sodium dishes.  Akihiro currently serves as director of the Kansai Chef Association.