meet the owners

Lenore has several years of combined experience as a culinary educator, quality assurance facilitator and food service director of catering. She comes to the EVOO venture with a rich depth of experience and skills, along with the love of hospitality. A graduate of the University of Washington and later University of Maryland, Lenore combined her love of food with education and landed a great position in Maryland as chef-instructor of a high school program in culinary arts. Robert was one of the Marriott Corporate executive chef team at the time and became a frequent guest chef in Lenore's classes. She also attended Johnson & Wales University for additional culinary classes. Later, back in Seattle, Lenore worked as director of a small catering company, adjunct faculty teaching food management at Bastyr University, and quality assurance advisor to the food vendor at Microsoft in Redmond.

Bob got his formal education at the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York. But long before he was a graduate of the CIA, it was the influence of his Jewish-Italian family that created his love of cooking. Both Bob's parents loved cooking and were comfortable in the kitchen. His great-granddad owned a Jewish deli on Delancey Street in New York, and his immigrated Italian grandparents on his father's side taught him the family's Italian favorites. Bob held many prestigious positions as executive chef for Lowe's, L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, Wash DC, The Seattle Sheraton Hotel and Towers, and Marriott hotels around the country. Both Bob and Lenore became interested in Share Our Strength, an organization started in Wash DC dedicated to eliminating childhood hunger in our country, and they are still involved today. After marrying, Lenore and Bob moved back to Lenore's home town, Seattle where he worked as a culinary educator, consultant, and regional director of events & catering for the world's largest food management company, Compass Group USA. Now that he is back hands-on in the kitchen, all is right with the world.