Growing up in St. Paul Minnesota, Michael began his culinary career by cooking with his grandmother who, like many, taught him to cook from scratch at a young age. He got his start in the industry by working in two family owned catering business until he attended the St. Paul Tech Culinary Arts School in 1997. While obtaining his Culinary Arts Degree, Michael worked as Sous Chef at the Mississippi Dunes Club. He quickly moved on to become a Sous Chef at the Hudson County Club. One year later, Michael became the Executive Chef at the age of 20. He then became the chef at the San Pedro Café, a Caribbean themed restaurant, utilizing the freshness of the islands and its flavors.

After this experience, Michael started his career in the corporate world as a chef at Houlihan’s. Realizing that the corporate world was not where he belonged, he went back to the Mississippi Dunes Club as a front of the house manager. It was at this time that Michael decided to take a break from his management duties to find his true calling, being in the kitchen. Trying out a few positions, he joined the Tavistock family when he came on board as a line cook at Napa Valley Grille. After that, he also worked as the Chef de Cuisine at North Coast on Lake Minnetonka before returning to another Tavistock owned, California Café at the Mall of America as Sous Chef for two years.

Leaving the cold for the much warmer California, Michael moved to Southern California to work as the Executive Chef at Alcatraz Brewing Company. Inspired by fresh California ingredients, his philosophy is “keep it simple and make it from scratch!” Now two years under his belt, Michael’s passion is pairing quality food with Brew Master Robb’s signature beers. Creating new items for beer dinners and meeting new faces is what he loves best about working at Alcatraz. When not working, Michael can be found playing hockey (he plays defense) with The Vandal’s in his Long Beach hockey league. Be sure and say hello if you haven’t already done so on your next visit.