John has been cooking professionally since 1995, having had the opportunity to train under Master Chef Fortunato Nicotra and Lidia Bastianvich at Felidia Restaurant.  Most recently, John has collaborated with the co-founder of The Dressing Room, Michel Nischan, acting as the Executive Chef of that American cuisine, farm to table restaurant for the past two years.  John has experimented with various cuisines throughout his career, but finds his greatest inspiration from creating innovative, healthy organic farm fresh dishes while supporting local farmers and their sustainable agricultural and aquacultural practices.

His passion for using local, organic and sustainable foods is reflected in the various causes he has generously donated his time to support, including ArtFoodHope (organized by Alice Waters, The Dressing Room was one of 12 restaurants chosen nationwide to coordinate a private benefit dinner for the January 2009 Inauguration of President  Barack Obama); Chefs for a Cause benefiting The Yale Sustainable Food Project; the 2009 Global Environmental Citizen Awards honoring Her Majesty Queen Noor and Edward Norton presented by the Harvard Center for Health and the Global Environment) and the Wholesome Wave Foundation Benefit working alongside Jacques Pepin and Michel Nishan in 2008.

John’s appetite for experiencing new food and cultures has been cultivated by extensive travel through Central and South America, as well as Europe.  On the rare day that he is not creating in the kitchen, you can find him experimenting with various organic hops and developing new micro-brews like his spring “Holzweissen” and his descriptive “Vaastwarth pale-ale”.

He is supported in all his endeavors by his wife, Eliana Vera. John graduated from the University of Maine with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish Literature. In whatever free time he has left, he enjoys sailing and literature.