A one-time cyclist, Gerhard originally pursued a career in culinary arts simply to have a mobile source of income that would allow him to train for the Olympics anywhere, any time. But convenience soon gave way to passion, as Gerhard found himself running the kitchen of a French bistro in San Diego. The day he fired his pastry chef and took over, he discovered his true passion – and it has been a wild ride ever since.

Gerhard set out to learn from the best, and worked as the assistant to the celebrated Master pastry chef, Jacquy Pfeiffer, the Alsace-born owner and founder of the French Pastry School in Chicago. Gerhard describes this as more of an apprenticeship and awakening. Pastry chef positions in many of America’s top kitchens such as Charlie Trotters Restaurant, Waldorf Astoria, Ritz-Carlton Naples, Four Seasons Chicago, Dean and DeLuca and Wynn Las Vegas gave impetus to the creation of Keegan’s own Dessert restaurant – D Bar Desserts in Denver, CO.

When he’s not preparing seasonal product-driven delicacies in the pastry shop, Keegan spends time organizing and serving as M.C. for the “The National Pastry Team Championships”, “The World Pastry Team Championships” and Host of Food Network’s top rated “Food Network Challenge.”

He has been featured numerous times on the Discovery Channel’s Great Chefs of America, as well as the Travel Channel and CNN. For the 2001 Pastry World Cup, he served as technical advisor to Team USA, which brought home a gold medal. Gerhard is a 2-time recipient of the Distinguished Visiting Pastry Chef award from Johnson & Wales University, and has received the Jean Banchet Culinary Excellence Award. Chef Gerhard has had the honor of participating in 8 different James Beard Dinners. His light, fresh fruit desserts have also been featured widely in A Neo-Classic View of Plated Desserts, Chocolatier, FoodArts, Pastry Baking North America and many other publications.

After two years at The Greenbrier, he moved on to become a Sous Chef at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida, where he was directly responsible for the banquet kitchen. He was quickly promoted to Chef de Cuisine of The Grill Room and then became Sous Chef of The Dining Room. Chef Voltaggio was then promoted to Chef de Cuisine of The Dining Room, where he was responsible for the management of culinary operations for a AAA Five Diamond Restaurant.

In 2004, Chef Voltaggio became Executive Chef of Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg, California, where he collaborated daily with Celebrity Chef Charlie Palmer. After two years and a one star rating in the 2006 Michelin guide for his cuisine, he became Chef de Cuisine of Hemisphere at The Greenbrier. Most recently, Chef Voltaggio was Executive Chef of The Bazaar by José Andrés at The SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

In addition to the Michelin star, Chef Voltaggio’s other accolades include a 3.5 star review in the San Francisco Chronicle for his cuisine at Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen; a 4 Star review from the Los Angeles Times as Chef de Cuisine of The Bazaar; and noteworthy recognition from local and national media including The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Gourmet and Travel + Leisure.

Today at The Langham, Huntington’s Dining Room, Chef Voltaggio’s celebrated style is described as new American cuisine using classic discipline and modern trends, presenting traditional and non-traditional flavors in new, innovative ways. He also utilizes the bounty of seasonal produce that California offers while showcasing the best quality seafood, meats and artisan ingredients available from around the globe. He primarily focuses on ingredients and flavor profiles, complementing them with strong technique and precise execution.

After beginning his employment at Charm City Cakes, Geof used the skills learned from his previous occupation as an architectural model builder to create his own style of cake decorating. Combining Geof’s dedication and attention to detail with Chef Duff Goldman’s know-how and vision, they have taken Charm City Cakes from a kitchen in a Baltimore rowhouse to an internationally known bakery and mischief troupe. A diverse range of skills are present at their cakeshop, permitting the belief that no cake idea is impossible to produce, be it a giant Hogwart’s castle or a life-sized motorcycle. As Executive Sous Chef and a project lead, Geof mainly oversees replicas; with a meticulous eye has constructed cake models of Notre Dame cathedral, Taj Mahal, and “nearly every building sacred to Baltimoreans”.

Geof grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania and moved to Baltimore in the early nineties. He spends his free time as a singer/songwriter and also plays trumpet in a Fela Kuti tribute band.

McInnis traveled and worked at various restaurants after graduating from culinary school. He began as Sous Chef at Asolare in St. John in the Virgin Islands, a Caribbean-Asian restaurant. Next, in San Francisco, Chef McInnis worked at the fine dining Asian-French restaurant, Azie. There, he earned a promotion to Sous Chef and learned Japanese cuisine from the sushi chefs while polishing his French techniques. When he moved to rural Virginia, he worked at Keswick Hall, an exclusive 5-star hotel owned by The Orient Express. McInnis moved to Florida in 2004 to work with the famed Chef Norman Van Aken at Norman’s.

Returning to his native Florida, Jeff worked directly under famed Chef Norman Van Aken. In 2006, McInnis became Chef de Cuisine of The DiLido Beach Club at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach. At DiLido he uses local ingredients to create Southern Mediterranean and North African-inspired cuisine and, best of all, it’s all served right on the beach.

One of the favorite Cheftestants on the hit Bravo TV show, “Top Chef: Season 5,” Chef McInnis cooked his way into the finals of the competition. Jeff is also busy this year writing his cookbook entitled, The Natural Course, to be published in 2009, as well as appearing in Festivals around America.

Chef McInnis has been honored several times as a guest chef at the James Beard House. In addition he was recently named a “rising star” on starchefs.com and one of the “Best of the City” by Miami Magazine. Committed to giving back to the Miami community, he leads the Ritz Carlton’s sponsorship of culinary fundraising events for organizations like The March of Dimes, Children’s Homes Society, and Taste of the Nation.

As Executive Pastry Chef for Grande Lakes Orlando, Chéramy oversees both The Ritz-Carlton Orlando and the JW Marriott Orlando’s 24-hour pastry operation and a team of 39, and is responsible for the execution of all dessert and pastry production for the resort. Chéramy’s creativity and expertise in the art of patisserie are well represented throughout Grande Lakes Orlando’s food and beverage outlets including award-winning The Vineyard Grill, Primo, as well as the specialty Citron Patisserie, where the chef’s desserts are exhibited daily. His luscious creations are also featured in the hotel’s banquet and special events menus.

Chef Chéramy has vast experience and knowledge of life’s delicious little luxuries. Before joining The Grande Lakes Orlando culinary team in May 2006 as Executive Pastry Chef overseeing both hotels, Chéramy was the Executive Pastry Chef at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota. Prior to that, Chef Chéramy shined in the position of Assistant Pastry Chef of the AAA Five Diamond, Mobil Five-Star-rated Ritz-Carlton, Naples. Before joining The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., Chéramy was an opening chef at Las Vegas’ Bellagio where he oversaw dessert preparation for the hotel’s 11 gourmet restaurants as well as banquet and catering functions. He especially enjoyed filling special requests for celebrity guests like the Tiramisu he made for Michael Jackson, the Strawberry Mousseline for Elizabeth Taylor and the sugar showpiece for Jimmy Carter.

Before coming to the United States, Chef Chéramy honed his craft working under some of Southern France’s Master Chefs who had earned the prestigious honor of Meilleur Ouvrier de France (M.O.F.), assisting with demonstrations, classes and shows.

Chef Chéramy has recently been named one of six Ritz-Carlton chefs in The First Annual Rising Young Chef Competition, the sole pastry chef. Additionally, Orlando Leisure Magazine featured one of Chef Chéramy’s succulent and beautiful creations on the cover of their December 2006 issue, and Sarasota magazine touts Chef Chéramy’s creations as “Best Architecture to Eat” in their annual “Best of the Best” readers poll for 2004. In July 2003 he received a silver medal at the National Pastry Competition in Las Vegas as part of “Team Monti.” Chef Chéramy worked as an assistant and guest pastry chef during the 2002 World Pastry Cup Competition in Las Vegas. Among other awards and accolades are winning the Plated Desserts Competition at Classic Gourmet’s Southern Pastry Classic in September 2002 where Chef Chéramy set a record of 98 points out of a possible 100 for his dessert, Fig Sorbet with Frozen Montelimart Nougat with Fig Candy in Red Wine Syrup. The beautiful and striking entry was finished with a Basil Tuile. He has also received a silver medal at the National Dessert Competition in Las Vegas and was a finalist in the International Grand Prix Sibelaner in 1999. In addition, he placed second at the 11th Chocolate Competition in Sète, France in 1998.

Chef Landrieu’s work has not gone unnoticed. He won two first prizes in sugar artistry, and 2nd prize for artistry at Chocolat by Pascal Caffet in Troyes, 2006. He was also a substitute for Team France at The Pastry World Cup, won first prize for tasting selection at Salon du Chocolat in Paris, and finished in the pastry semifinals at the 2007 Meilleurs Ouvrier de France Competition.

At the Chicago Chocolate Academy, Chef Landrieu is in charge of guiding the school towards meeting its goals of sharing knowledge about chocolate and desserts to both the professional and non-professional populations. He manages the Academy’s staff, develops classes and recipes, and is constantly seeking out talented guest chefs for specialty classes. He helped to design the layout of the facility, equip the kitchen, auditorium, and café areas, and reaches out to equipment and ingredient companies to form strategic partnerships for the school.

“My philosophy is to always use the best products and techniques to create on-trend desserts. Unpretentious, elegant, generous and enticing are the key words of my work and such is my challenge every day. Welcome to my sweet chocolate universe . . . ”

Laurent began studying pastry arts at the age of 16. Before joining the hotel, Laurent was executive pastry chef for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Buckhead in Atlanta. He was also executive pastry chef for the Ritz-Carlton in St. Thomas, USVI. He worked throughout France as a pastry chef and caterer. While working as a pastry chef for Bontemps Catering in France, Laurent participated in the country’s most prestigious pastry contest, the “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” (M.O.F. – master of the craft designation in France), an elite honor bestowed upon only few chefs. He was recruited by the noted Philippe Urraca, M.O.F. to be his pastry chef. He also worked for Layrac Catering company and held numerous other pastry chef positions in France. Laurent trained in chocolate making under Chef Francis Boucher, former president of the Chocolatiers M.O.F association, one of the most noted chocolate-makers in France.

Most recently, as captain of his team he won the 2007 National Pastry Championship and won the 2008 World Pastry Championship representing USA, making him the only Pastry Chef in the world with the double title.

Today, the Philadelphia native enjoys international recognition for the incomparable, handcrafted natural sweets with tastes and textures that arouse the senses.

Norman spent two years in Southern France, learning the craft of pastry-making from artisans who shaped their confections in a small pastry shop. The experience and skills became the foundation for a career with The Ritz-Carlton, where he served as executive pastry chef for two luxury resorts – The Ritz-Carlton, Naples in Florida, and The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis in Missouri.

At age 30, he was appointed to The Ritz-Carlton’s position of corporate executive pastry chef to head the company’s international corps of pastry chefs. During his 13 years in the position, he also opened hotel and resort pastry kitchens worldwide in such diverse locales as Boston, Dubai and Bali. International acclaim also followed Norman. Chocolatier and Pastry Art and Design magazine named him one of the country’s top 10 pastry chefs in 1996 and 1997. In 1999, he led the U.S. team to a bronze medal in the biennial Coup du Monde de la Patisserie (World Cup of Pastry) competition in Lyons, France, which featured the top pastry chefs from 18 nations.

He was among 18 chefs chosen to make a birthday cake at the 150th Smithsonian Anniversary Celebration in Washington, D.C., and one of only 26 selected to appear on the 39-part series “Baking with Julia,” which aired on public television. Norman has made numerous appearances on the Discovery Channel’s “Great Chefs” series and his desserts have graced the covers of Art Culinaire, Bakery Magazine and other prominent culinary publications. He is also co-founder of the National Pastry Team Championship. Norman is a regular guest judge on the Food Network Challenge series.

In 2001, the culinary virtuoso left the corporate world and entered into private enterprise, and founded Norman Love Confections (formerly Ganache Chocolates). His adventurous flair, love of the avant-garde and penchant for perfection are basic ingredients in the ultra-premium chocolates that are revered as representatives of the industry’s finest gourmet sweets.

In addition to annual new and limited edition holiday flavors, Norman most recently launched BLACK, an ultra-premium line of intensely dark chocolates featuring rich origin chocolates from five of finest growing regions in the world.

Since founding Norman Love Confections, Norman has received tremendous national and international recognition. A highly respected consumer rating publication recognized the company numerous times as the best chocolates in the nation. His chocolates have been lauded by the likes of USA Today, La Vie Claire, Robb Report and Entrepreneur magazines and the company was selected as one of the top 10 artisan chocolate companies in the country.

Norman lives in Fort Myers, Florida with his wife, Mary, and their two children. He plays ice hockey Sunday mornings and still roots for his hometown hockey team, the Philadelphia Flyers.

Corporate pastry chef Frederic Monti was named one of the “Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America” in Pastry Art & Design magazine for the second consecutive year (2003 & 2004). He was also featured on the Food Network for sugar artistry.

Frederic Monti was also the recipient of a Silver Medal during the National Pastry Team Championship held in 2003, Las Vegas, Nevada. After months of preparation and thirteen hours of intense competition, Team Monti won second place in the biannual event. They beat out a dozen pastry teams from across the country to win the coveted Silver Medal. Frederic Monti returned in 2007 to the National Pastry Team Championship held at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Frederic Monti was one of the three on team Branlard and they achieved a gold medal. In 2008, Frederic Monti coached a team for the National Bread and Pastry Team Championship and the team took 1st place and won the gold medal.

Chef Frederic Monti is not only known for his beautiful presentations of desserts, but also creating amazing flavors and texture combinations. The pride he takes in the careful execution of his desserts has gained him numerous awards. His craft leads him to explore his imagination, which unfolds onto impressive, inspiring sugar and chocolate showpieces.

David started his career in Long Island N.Y. at vocational schools while working in an Italian bakery. Finishing High school and vocational school, David continued his education at Johnson and Wales University earning an Associates degree in pastry Arts.

During his last year at Johnson Wales David secured a position with Swiss Hotels in Boston Massachusetts and continued working and developing is Pastry skills. David moved to Orlando Florida years later and continued working in hotels and fine dinning restaurants enhancing his pastry skills and developing managerial training. When David was 23 years old he became the Executive Pastry Chef for then Stouffer Hotels which soon became the Renaissance Orlando Resort. David soon realized his taste for culinary competition and started to compete at various ACF sanctioned events winning over a dozen gold and silver medals “Most Artistic” trophy and cash prizes. David is still involved with the ACF and has helped form the Florida Pastry Challenge in 2004 which has helped many local pastry chefs, pastry cooks and students elevate there pastry skills during the Florida hotel and restaurant show in Orlando fl. every year.

Most recently David has been picked to be team captain of Team USA for the prestigious Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie competing in Lyon France January 2009. The three man team consisting of pastry chefs Roy Pell Phoenician hotel Scottsdale, Arizona and Remy Funfrock from The Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo. will compete against 20 other teams from around the world. This event takes place every two years in Lyon France and challenges the pastry chefs to create in 10 hours a buffet consisting of a chocolate, sugar and ice centerpiece along with a chocolate cake (entremet), ice cream cake (entremet glace) and plated dessert for 20 judges.

David and Team mates Laurent Lhuillier and James Mullaney competed in the World Pastry Championship in July of 2006 as Team USA in Phoenix Arizona placing third and winning a bronze medal. David and Team mates Laurent Lhuillier and James Mullaney formed “Team Lhuillier” and won first place in the National Pastry Championship in Phoenix July 2005. Winning gold medal and also “Best Chocolate Centerpiece” and “Best Degustation” along with the $50,000.00 cash prize and the honor of being Team USA and competing for the World Pastry Championship in 2006.

David and team member Jim Mullaney competed in the first “Bread and Pastry Team Championship” 2004 in Atlantic City placing second and receiving silver medals and winning “Best Chocolate and Sugar Centerpiece”