About Chef Shawn

Food is how I express myself, how I make the world a better place one plate at a time. Eating well can change someone’s life, and it’s very fulfilling to be a part of that change.

After spending my childhood helping to cook for a large family, I knew that food was going to be an integral part of my life. Completing my Apprenticeship under Chef Channon Mondoux, owner of Renaissance Cuisine in Michigan (as seen on Food Network’s Recipe Challenge), I recently relocated to Virginia to start the second branch of the company. My mentor and I share a love of unique foods, focusing on fresh preparation for flavor and healthfulness.

Virginia “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” and sustainable foods movements are passions for me, and I use as many local shops and purveyors as possible to prepare meals for my clients and my family. Visiting farms and markets myself allows me to develop relationships that ensure the highest quality of foods at the peak of flavor and ripeness for her clients, and to practice environmentally sound purchasing. This means fresher, more flavorful, more healthful foods for you, from eggs to meat to produce. It means  that I, and my clients, are helping to support our local economy and local farms.  It means making  a better, more sustainable world one plate at a  time.

I’ve spent several years studying historic foods, as well as specialty foods from a wide variety of cultures. Some of my recipes appear in a new e-book of historic Turkish recipes.  I welcome people who are looking to find a chef who will work with their unique dietary needs, as well.