“Celebrating with Pork is easy with all the versatility pork brings to the plate and the table. We try to take classic dishes and rework the dish with Pork for a new approach.” Dean Thomas is Executive Chef at South Coast Winery Resort & Spa. He was most recently at the Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino in San Diego, California, where he founded Barona Culinary Institute to train associates at various levels including management, hourly and American Culinary Federation (ACF) Apprenticeship Program. Chef Thomas is also a board member of the San Diego Chapter of the ACF, an ACF Certified Executive Chef and a Certified Culinary Educator.
A native of the Midwest and the Chicagoland area, Chef Thomas began his career in the hospitality industry as a young dishwasher for an Italian chef who took him under his wing. He studied culinary arts at Joliet Junior College and soon moved on to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina where he gained experience at many of the plantation developments. He took a sabbatical in pastries working for Chef Kurt Buchi at the Intercontinental Resort and soon became the Outlet Chef for the Carolina Café at the Westin Hilton Head 5-Diamond Resort.
He then moved on to Westin La Paloma Resort’s Country Club in Tucson, Arizona where he served as Executive Chef. During the course of his time there, he took a sabbatical at Caneel Bay Rock Resort on St. John, United States Virgin Islands. Chef Thomas later served as Executive Sous Chef at the Essex Campus of the New England Culinary Institute, where he developed new generations of young talent for nearly nine years. He accepted his current position at Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino in 2004.
Chef Thomas is truly accomplished in culinary circles and has numerous ACF medallions in his portfolio. Among the many culinary awards and competitions he’s won during the course of his professional career are the Pork Recipe Grand Prize in 1993. In 1994, he was named Champion of the Arizona Taste of Elegance and competed at the National Taste of Elegance held in Chicago.
Recipe links
Pork Flat Iron |
