Our Chefs

Thomas Scholten and Shari Fritz-Scholten joined the Clandestine Chef Experience in 2008. Prior to joining the Clandestine Chef, Tom and Shari owned the Fritz Alpine Bistro in Keystone, Colorado. The Fritz Alpine Bistro was an overnight culinary sensation that earned an international reputation for its wine pairing dinners. Tom and Shari's unique take on the culinary arts made the Fritz Alpine Bistro a four-time Wine Spectator award-winning restaurant. After a successful run with his restaurant, Tom and Shari decided to focus full-time on their true love — personal cheffing, instructing, and executing private wine paired extravaganzas. Some of their notable clients have been John Deere, Navigant Consulting, the Democratic National Convention, and the Island of Guana, an ultra exclusive private resort in the British Virgin Islands. Tom and Shari often team up for their larger Clandestine Chef classes and dinner parties.

Diane Brown joined the Clandestine Chef Experience in 2009. Diane had years of experience in personal cheffing, in-home cooking classes, and catering prior to joining our team. She graduated from the Cook Street School of Fine Cooking Professional Food and Wine Program and has received comprehensive training in French and Italian techniques. In addition, she has received formal European culinary training in France and Italy. Diane's passion is seeking out and working with fresh (preferably organic) regionally grown ingredients.

Tim Midyett joined the Clandestine Chef Experience in 2009. Tim is a Colorado native who discovered a passion for food at a very early age. In 2003 he graduated from the Cook Street School of Fine Cooking Food and Wine Career Program where he focused on French and Italian cooking. Tim currently owns and operates Colorado Home Chef — a company that specializes in preparing meals for families ahead of time so they can be eaten later.

Joe Garcia joined the Clandestine Chef Experience in 2007. Joe's culinary career began at the age of 15, working summers at local restaurants throughout central and southern California. He later attended culinary school in Chicago and then moved back to San Francisco to pursue his dream of becoming a chef. He worked for a number of high profile restaurants such as Garibaldi's on Presido, the Elite Café, and a local favorite — the Gin Joint. In 2001, Joe received an offer that would bring him to New York for the next six years. Joe began working as the Executive Chef of the Bridge Café in lower Manhattan, bringing the restaurant a new and exciting twist. After two years of running the busy kitchen, Joe was offered an opportunity to open a new restaurant in midtown Manhattan, as the consulting Executive Chef. In late 2006, Joe and his family relocated to Denver, where he helped open two popular restaurants. He was the Executive Chef of Alto in LoDo and the Executive Sous Chef of Sushi Den's sister restaurant Izakaya Den located on South Pearl Street. In mid 2009, Joe again relocated to San Francisco to help open our newest location: Clandestine Chef - California.

Chef Seth Foutz joined the Clandestine Chef Experience in 2009. Seth comes from a long line of chefs. He has a profound love of the water, mountains and snowboarding. Seth was formally educated in Culinary Arts in Ireland, and is a veteran chef throughout the United States, including the Fritz Alpine Bistro and Great Northern Tavern at Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado. Chef Seth's philosophy is that a plate of food, whether simple or elegant, should always be inventive and use the fresh bounty from the sea and land, while keeping in mind that local favorites always need to remain on the menu. Chef Seth is currently Executive Chef at MackDaddy's Seafood Restaurant in Avon, North Carolina where he also makes his home

Martin Kokotaylo joined the Clandestine Chef Experience in 2009. Prior to joining the Clandestine Chef Experience, Chef Martin has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a professional chef and culinary instructor throughout the United States. His work includes eighteen years as a Culinary Instructor for Gourmet Curiosities, multiple appearances on PBS Television Network, writing weekly food columns for Mature Living Magazine, and being a Corporate Chef. In addition, Chef Martin has won multiple awards including several Sofitel French Cooking Contests, second place winner in the Sutter Home "build a better burger" contest, and finalist in the Wolfgang Puck/Gourmet Magazine/HSN recipe contest. Further, Chef Martin is a wine expert and an incredible entertainer, as well as an award-winning photographer. He makes his home in Sylvania, Ohio.