ABOUT THE CHEFS

Chef Len works directly with numerous global consumer brands, food manufacturing companies, food service distributors and contact feeders, aligning product design, marketing and sales teams to create fresh and innovative food solutions. He brings a passionate love of food to every product, building upon experience that began at a family restaurant and continued throughout his tenure as the Executive Chef for Stockpot Soups, a division of Campbell's Food Group, where he headed up R&D innovation for key national chains.

Chef Len's formal training includes the California Culinary Academy. He holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Maryland. He is a Certified Executive Chef through the American Culinary and a Certified Research Chef through the Research Chef's Association. He serves as the Chef & Child Chair for the Baltimore Chapter of The American Culinary Federation, sits on the Board of The Great Kids Farm for Baltimore City Schools, and advises curriculum for the Stratford University Culinary Program.

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A Hudson Valley, NY native, Nicole has made her way to McCormick by way of the Austin, Texas food and film industry. Her role here at McCormick leverages both these passions as she spear-heads initiating new ways to utilize video to connect with customers and enhance the food experience. Chef Nicole ardently believes that food, in all its manifestations is the key of life. The most unique challenge for her is to take food visually from the eyes to the stomach and create an unforgettable, all-encompassing experience along the way.

Chef Nicole graduated from Claremont McKenna College in California with a double BA degree in Film Studies and Psychology. She also holds a degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Her focus always has and continues to be to positively impact people’s lives through exceptional food.

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Steve Chu is the executive chef and cofounder of Ekiben, an award-winning Asian fusion restaurant in Baltimore. He and his business partner, Ephrem Abebe, met as college students and have overseen Ekiben’s expansion to three locations across the city.

Ekiben has been named a Top 100 restaurant in the United States by Yelp for three years running (on the 2024 list they were ranked #20), and its inventive cuisine has received accolades and raves in several national publications, including Travel + Leisure, Bon Appétit, Eater, Vogue, and many others.

Among other awards and recognitions, Steve was a James Beard Semifinalist for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in 2023, and he was named a Star Chefs Rising Star in 2018. Read Full Bio

Ana Castro was raised in Mexico City by her grandmother, who played a crucial part in her culinary development by awakening her curiosity about not only food’s sourcing and preparation, but by showing her that a meal, however simple, can bring people together and cure whatever ails the soul. After pursuing a formal culinary education, Ana traveled from India and Europe to New York City and, ultimately, New Orleans, driven by her desire to learn from different cuisines and cultures. Since laying down roots in New Orleans, Ana worked her way up to sous chef through nationally acclaimed kitchens in New Orleans. While there, she was a finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s 2018 Rising Star Award and, in the same year, a recipient of the coveted Ment’Or Grant.

In 2021, Ana opened Lengua Madre to elevate our current understanding of Mexican cuisine. Under her leadership, Lengua Madre was a semifinalist for the 2022 James Beard Foundation’s Best New Restaurant award and was included in both the New York Times’ “Restaurant List” 2021 and Bon Appetit’s “50 Best New Restaurants” 2022. Read Full Bio