About Us

Michael ‘Mickey’ Knutson is a 17-year Chicago culinary veteran and creative professional with a wealth of knowledge & experience in high-level cuisine, service, and leadership. His career turns have ranged from intimate, chef-driven kitchens to expansive catering & events operations; high-volume American bistro and barbecue to upscale seafood and steakhouse brigades. He has a particular loving interest in the traditional foldaways of the American South and Northwestern Europe. Mickey lives in Rogers Park with his wife Laura and their three daughters.

I’m a native Californian, born and raised in Napa. My first pastry job was for my brother in-law who owned an award-winning French restaurant in Sonoma, the Au Relais. I had grown up baking as a child and loved it, but that short time learning pastry in a French inspired kitchen cemented my love for the craft. I went on to work as a Pastry Chef in the Yountville Patisserie before moving to Chicago. From there I spent the next 15 years building a bakery program for Sunset Foods. I took a break from baking after that for several years and worked my way through a few corporate jobs, but last winter I decided it was time to come back to what I love to do, and so I opened my own Micro-bakery (with lots of support from my husband Tom), Pendleton Street Treats. So far, it’s an amazing ride and I’ve been embraced by my community. I’m right where I want to be in life right now and I can’t wait to share the joy and personal satisfaction that baking something wonderful can bring you!

I'm Laura Tiernan of Laura's Makin' Treats, and I am happy, and proud to be your cookier here at The Joyful Gourmet. I have been making, and decorating cookies for about 10 years now, and it has my heart. I have, and continue to take classes myself to keep improving my skills and I have even been to CookieCon (yes, that is a thing!) where I am able to take classes with some of the best cookie decorators out there. I'm happy you have chosen to join us here at The Joyful Gourmet so you too can decorate cookies to take to parties, where people say, "ooohh, they are too pretty to eat!." I follow that up with, "take a picture, eat the cookie." Let's decorate!

I am a pastry chef currently working towards my bachelor's in food science while working as part of the culinary team here at The Joyful Gourmet. One of my goals in the kitchen is to make baking fun and approachable. As the evening store manager, I strive to make sure everyone has a great experience, whether it comes to introducing you to new kitchenware, sipping on a glass of wine or enjoying our cooking classes. When I'm not at work, I will either be working on my garden or nose deep in a book.

Clay Champlin has called the Northshore home for most of his life. He trained at Kendall College as well as the Culinary Institute of America. Clay has worked and run kitchens at a variety of local restaurants and was the owner of Bespoke, an event space and cooking school in downtown Chicago. While he has been trained in classical French cooking, Clay has a passion for all cuisines he’s gathered during his many travels throughout Europe.

Food is my life! I attended culinary school at the College of Dupage, received a bachelor degree in Culinary Arts at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and masters in Education from Kaplan University. After a restaurant circuit I’ve been executive chef for various companies and institutions. I am currently a director of Food Service at a retirement home and I still teach culinary arts at the college of Lake County - which I love. I’ve traveled extensively and love picking up cooking techniques and flavors. There’s almost nothing I can’t cook but my favorite is classical French. I love cooking, teaching and sharing a great evening with our guests!

Chef Matt Zagorski is an award-winning chef and holds over a dozen national pie making titles. He is well known for his sense of humor, approachable recipes and his ability to break down complicated culinary techniques so that anyone can execute them. A food history and food science geek, Chef Matt brings his recipes to life with fun and interesting food stories and facts. A lover of international cuisines, Chef Matt received his culinary training at Kendall College and has been teaching culinary classes for over 15 years. He lives in Arlington Heights with his wife of 29 years, two sons and their dog.

Chef Lee Kuebler is a long-time Lake County resident, growing up here and raising his family. He is a graduate of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, has traveled extensively picking up ethnic flavors and cuisines and owned/operated a series of successful restaurants here in Lake County. Chef Lee is the adoring dad of 2 super energetic and wonderful kiddos.

Pastry Chef Gale Gand has two James Beard Awards, had the Michelin two star restaurant Tru in Chicago, owned Vanilla Bean Bakery, hosts Food Network’s “Sweet Dreams”, and authored 8 books. She worked with Julia Child, makes Gale’s Root Beer, went to La Varenne in Paris, is a Pie Contest Judge, and has Kitchen Sisters Cooking School. More info: www.galegand.com

Chef Drew is a creative, versatile chef with over 20 years of experience in restaurants, private homes, unique events, and on-board yachts. Chef Drew is an avid traveler who has an adventurous palette and flair for international cuisine. He has worked in kitchens in U.S., England, and Melbourne, Australia and has traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Caribbean, England, Europe, Colombia, Australia, and New Zealand. He developed a passion for cooking at an early age, often standing on a chair to help his great grandmother in the kitchen. His great grandmother, grandmother, and mother are/were all chefs. Chef Drew is a Chicago native and a graduate of the Culinary Arts School at Kendall College in Chicago, which included an internship under four-star Chef Paul Bartolotta of Spiaggia. Chef Drew loves to teach intimate cooking classes as well as cater large or small-scale dining events. He is innovative, well-versed in world cuisine, highly skilled in technique, works well under pressure, quick to improvise, always up for the challenge, and flexible to accommodate any special dietary preferences. He is passionate about supporting local farmers and utilizing only high quality, organic, healthy, nutritional, and sustainable ingredients.

Went to the Art Institute of Colorado Culinary. 25 years in the industry. I've been teaching since 2009. Expertise in Sushi, Italian, and Regional American foods. I've worked in restaurants, hotels, boutique markets/butchers and recreational cooking schools.

Chef Laura has a diverse background in cultural and culinary arts. Born in an Italian and Korean family, she has a degree in accounting. However, early on in her corporate career, she realized her passion for gastronomy which led her to graduate from Kendall College with a culinary art degree. She worked for various establishments including the Primehouse in River North, and was one of the opening team members of the first Virgin Hotel. Her love language is food and she passionately shares her abundance of culinary mastery with her students. Thanks to her diverse background, her depth in food culture knowledge is limitless. She has a dedicated group of followers who do not miss any opportunity to take her exciting and adventurous classes here at The Joyful Gourmet. When she is not teaching, you will find her in her garden or enjoying time with her children.

I'm originally from Rhode Island and went to culinary school in Boston. After graduating, I moved to Chicago to cook and my first restaurant I landed at was one Michelin Star, Everest under Jean Joho. After 2 and a half years there, I went to a farm to table restaurant called the Bristol where the focus was sustainability and being "farm to table". I stayed within these parameters of fine dining and locality for the last 12 years working at places like Local Foods, The Waldorf Astoria, Swift @ Sons, and Abigail's. Working under mentors like Jean Joho, Mike Gorman, Chris Pandel, and Matthias Merges, I've been fortunate to learn my craft from some of the best Chicago has to offer. Currently being one of the many chefs for Abbott Laboratories' food service has allowed me to join the team at Joyful and be creative and really share what I'm passionate about. I'm always looking for a new technique to try and recipe to master, in hopes I can share with our guests at Joyful.