Faculty and Staff Profiles

Cascade Culinary Institute Faculty and Staff boast of an estimated 198 years of industry experience and 48 years of teaching experience in the discipline of Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry Arts.

Chef Fritz has pursued his passion for cooking for more than 26 years. From humble beginnings in quick service and in a U.S. Army field kitchen during the Persian Gulf War, Fritz has risen to prominence as a leader in culinary arts education in the Pacific Northwest, and is an inspiring role model for self-directed, lifelong learning in his field. Chef Fritz is a 1994 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, where he worked under the tutelage of two ACF Certified Master Chefs. He holds a B.A. in Hospitality Business Management and a Master's degree in Education, both from Washington State University. Chef Fritz was the founding Director of Education at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Seattle, where he led academic, operational and career programs from the school's opening in 2008 until 2010. Previously, he was culinary educator and executive chef at Washington State University's (WSU) School of Hospitality Business Management. In that capacity Chef Fritz developed a student-operated restaurant and served as mentor for the school's student-run Hospitality Catering Services. Fritz has instructed at the Colorado State University Restaurant and Resort Management Program, where he also served as Executive Chef for the Aspen Grille student-operated restaurant. He also directed culinary operations at the College of Culinary Arts, Johnson and Wales University (Denver). Mr. Fritz's restaurant experience includes stints at such fine-dining establishments as the Salish Lodge in Snoqualmie, WA and St. Andrew's Café at the CIA campus in Hyde Park, New York. Among other recognition, Chef Fritz has won numerous gold, silver and bronze medals in ACF-sanctioned culinary competitions, a Distinguished Service Award from the Culinary Institute of America and an Army Accommodation Medal. Involved since its inception in 2001, Mr. Fritz serves annually as a judge and consultant for the ProStart Program for high school students, was lead judge for Oregon and Washington States' 2010 ProStart Competitions, and has facilitated ProStart teacher training. He is past Vice President of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Chefs de Cuisine of the Inland Northwest Chapter. His board memberships have included the Eastern Washington Chapter of Chefs Collaborative (promoting sustainable practices in the food industry), and the Washington State Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. While he hesitates to single out a favorite dish, Chef Fritz is particularly fond of preparing locally-sourced food and sharing a meal around a table of family and friends.

Chef Darwin received his culinary training in England, earning a degree and three certifications for the hotel and restaurant industry. He joined Cascade Culinary Institute as an instructor in 1993, following a successful career in some of Europe's leading hotels, at hospitality industry giants Doubletree Hotels and Westin Hotels, and in several independent properties. After opening three restaurants in Atlanta and Dallas as executive chef for American Restaurant Corporation, Mr. Darwin was promoted to the position of corporate chef with responsibilities for three kitchens. He has also served as executive chef for Sunriver Lodge and Resort. His favorite dish is anything fresh, local and flavored with curry.

Deena Cook - Administrative Assistant Restaurant Industry Experience: 18 Years Bachelors Degree, Geology - San Francisco State

Bio coming soon. 

Scott Lewis - Purchasing Specialist and Instructor  Restaurant Industry Experience: 25 Years Postsecondary Teaching Experience: 1 Year Bachelors Degree, Hotel Management - Florida International University

Scott has over 25 years' experience in hospitality at major hotels. Born in Portland, Oregon and raised in Los Angeles, he earned his B.S. Degree in Hospitality Management from Florida International University. His multi-faceted experiences early in his career included stints as waiter, bartender, front desk agent, executive steward and purchasing agent. As Assistant Director of Food and Beverage, Lewis opened Sheraton Hotels in Atlanta and Tampa, followed by a special project for the company in Miami. Returning to Oregon, Lewis continued with Sheraton as Director of Food and Beverage in Springfield then the Portland Airport Hotel. Most recently he served as Executive Steward at Sunriver Resort. He enjoys snow skiing, fishing and backpacking around Central Oregon's outdoor playgrounds.

Garrett Berdan is an independent culinary nutrition consultant specializing in culinary communications, foodservice systems and school nutrition programs.  He holds a degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition from Washington State University.  He also completed the Accelerated Culinary Arts Certificate Program at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone where he received the CIA Award for Culinary Achievement.  Garrett’s varied career path includes nutrition and culinary communications, program management, culinary nutrition instructor, nutritionist for a progressive grocery company, cooking school instructor, and production assistant for a Food Network program. Garrett has been a guest speaker for various dietetic, school nutrition, and public health organizations across the US.  In 2011 the White House honored Garrett as a Champion of Change for his work with school nutrition programs and Chefs Move to Schools.  Garrett’s experience with Chefs Move to School is featured in First Lady Michelle Obama’s book American Grown. Garrett grew up on a small farm in the middle of an apple orchard in Wenatchee, Washington.  He, his wife Lynette, and son Louis live in sunny Bend, Oregon where they enjoy year-round recreation in the Cascade Mountains.    

Thor Erickson - Chef Instructor Restaurant Industry Experience: 29 Years Postsecondary Teaching Experience: 3 Years Associates Degree, Culinary Arts - Columbia Community College

Chef Erickson established his reputation in fine dining at Chez Panisse and Jeremiah Tower's Stars. He serves as the Chef Instructor for Elevation, CCI's teaching restaurant, which provides "real life" capstone courses for both the Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry Arts programs. The restaurant provides a collaborative learning environment where guest feedback is integrated into students' competency-based learning experience. Students also learn the importance of using seasonal and locally grown foods from regional farmers and producers. A specialist in cheese-making, butchery, and meat curing, Chef Erickson is a member of Slowfood USA and a volunteer for Edible Schoolyard, Chez Panisse Foundation and NeighborImpact. He has taught at COCC since 2009. Chef Erickson holds an Associate Degree in Hospitality Management from Columbia Community College. 

Laura Hagen - Chef Instructor Restaurant Industry Experience: 24 1/2 Years Postsecondary Teaching Experience: 1/2 Years Bachelor Degree, English - Western Washington University

Chef Hagen calls on 25 years of experience in restaurants, high-volume commercial bakeries, product training, bakery sales and marketing. Her pastry career began at thirteen when she stowed away in the back of her parents' station wagon, and showed up at 4 a.m. ready to work at the Poodle Dog Restaurant in Fife, Washington, where her mom is still chief baker of pies and all things retro-sweet. In addition to an iron strong pair of forearms, Chef Hagen developed a lifelong love and appreciation of baking. In 1991, she graduated from Western Washington University, where she studied English Literature while pulling late evening shifts at Fred Meyer making cakes and breads. In the early-nineties, a move to Northern California inspired and perpetuated her passion for baking. She worked many venues including, high-end restaurants, catering, and Euro-American bakeries. She had the fortune to train with a hot bed of talent; Culinary Olympic gold medalist, Chef Terry Borge, Chef Kurtis Baguley of Scala's, and Iron Chef Cat Cora with whom Hagen collaborated while head Pastry Chef at Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa. In 1997, Hagen left the kitchen to train institutional and in-store baking staff for H.C. Brill in California, the upper Midwest and Oregon. She eventually became an account manager, developing a keen understanding of the economics of high-volume pastry production while working with buyers and managers at Unified Grocers, Sysco, BakeMark, Puratos, Safeway and Winco Foods. She wrote technical manuals, developed and conducted sales promotions and training seminars. A move to Bend in 2009 reawakened her creative desires and she became the Pastry Chef at Staccato. She is currently the Executive Pastry Chef at 900 Wall, and represented the restaurant in 2011 at Bend's Tour du Chocolate, winning "Best Dessert" and "Best Presentation". Over the past two decades, she has learned the daily miracle of producing delicate desserts and bread in the most challenging environments. This underlying principle guides her, as she shares the importance of developing menus that servers are eager to sell, and which contribute strongly to the restaurant's bottom line. She believes that chefs should consider dessert as something customers look forward to rather than an afterthought and most importantly, that bread is life! 

Michele Morris- Chef Instructor Restaurant Industry Experience: 11 Years Postsecondary Teaching Experience: 3 Years Associates Degree, Culinary Arts

Chef Morris currently serves as a Chef-Instructor for the Baking and Pastry Program at Cascade Culinary Institute. Michele has found that teaching pastry combines her two biggest passions in life-teaching others to achieve their best, and the art and craft of pastry. She has recently served as a coach to the student ACF competition team. Prior to becoming an instructor, she worked as the opening pastry chef and consultant for Bourbon Street in Bend, Oregon. While working at Bourbon Street, she was also the pastry chef and consultant for The Blacksmith Restaurant in Bend, Oregon. She was previously the Pastry Chef for Dilusso in Bend. As the Pastry Chef at Dilusso and at the Blacksmith, she provided wholesale desserts for companies including: Tetherow; Bend Golf and Country Club; Fireside Red; and Sunriver Resort. Prior to Dilusso, Michele was the opening Pastry Chef for Fireside Red in Bend. She has received several very positive reviews and write-ups from local food writers. Michele moved to Bend from Las Vegas to enjoy the lifestyle that Central Oregon has to offer. In Las Vegas, she worked at Alex Restaurant in Wynn Resort, which was a 2 Michelin Star, 5 star and 5 diamond restaurant. She also worked at Bellagio in Las Vegas, where she worked on the restaurant team under 3 World-Chapmion Pastry Chefs-Jean Phillipe Maury, MOF; Claude Escamilla; and Chris Hanmer. Michele received her Associates degree in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu, Las Vegas. She worked her way through college at the Venetian Resort, and staged extensively at Bradley Ogden's. Michele's pastry career began with attending the 2002 World Pastry Forum, where she attended classes taught by world class chefs including: Albert Adria; Jacquy Pfeiffer; Franz Ziegler; Jean Pierre Wybauw; Sebastien Canonne; Luigi Biasetto; Pascal CAffet; and Pascal Brunstein. She has also volunteered her time for a few years at the World and National Pastry Forums. Michele started her first pastry business-selling desserts from her home, while in Reno, Nevada. She volunteered for 12 years with a leadership development program for youth ages 11 to 18. In this program, she taught essential leadership skills including writing and achieving vision, goals, and objectives; understanding and working with the different needs and characteristics of a group; planning and time management; effective communication; evaluation; and using different styles of leadership in different situations. Michele's passion for pastry began as a child, spending time in her kitchen with her father where he taught her all of the basics of pastry.

David Trask - Chef Instructor Restaurant Industry Experience: 27 years Associates Degree - Western Culinary Institute, Portland, OR

Chef Trask’s culinary career began by earning a degree from Western Culinary Institutes and working for the McCormick and Schmick’s corporation, including several years at Jake’s Famous Crawfish in Portland, Oregon. His early career afforded him ample experience in a fast-paced, high volume, fine dining environment. He utilized his culinary background to become a food salesman, and eventually Director of Food service for a Portland-based food brokerage firm, where he represented a number of nationally branded companies and products, responsible for marketing campaigns, product placement and menu consultation. Chef Trask has lived the last nine years in the US Virgin Islands where he served as Head Chef for a private dinner club, as well as Owner/Chef for his own catering business and Tex-Mex Restaurant. He sold his restaurant in the Virgin Islands in late 2011, to relocate his family back to Oregon in 2012. He is excited to share his passion for food and culinary experience, as a Chef Instructor, with the students of Cascade Culinary Institute.

Wayne Yeatman - Chef Instructor Restaurant Industry Experience: 12 years Postsecondary Teaching Experience: 3.5 years Secondary Teaching Experience: 4 years Associates Degree, Culinary Arts - Newberry College Bachelors Degree, Hotel Restaurant Management - University of Massachusetts Amherst  Masters Degree, Business Administration - Texas State University

Chef Yeatman started his culinary journey 30 years ago in high school. Since then, Chef Yeatman has earned as Associates of Science Degree in Culinary Arts from Newbury College in Brookline, Massachusetts, a Bachelors of Science Degree in Hotel Restaurant Management from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Masters in Business Administration from Texas State University in San Marcos. Chef Yeatman has worked in various sectors of the hospitality industry including hotels, restaurants, contract foodservice, broadline distribution, healthcare, and retail grocery. Chef Yeatman has held management postions in both front and back of the house in both fine and casual dining realms. Chef Yeatman brings 7 years of Culinary Arts instruction, 4 in Secondary Education and 3 in Postsecondary Education. When he is not working, Chef Yeatman enjoys his family, wine and music.

Sam La Duca - Service and Management Instructor  Restaurant Industry Experience: 20 Years Postsecondary Teaching Experience: 1 Year Associates Degree, Hospitality Management - Valencia Community College

A passion for hospitality runs in the La Duca family. When his family relocated from New York to Boca Raton, Florida to pursue the restaurant business, Sam was introduced at the tender age of 11 to all facets of food service. He assisted in opening two seafood restaurants in south Florida, working every position from dishwasher to host, server to bartender. He obtained his Associate of Science Degree in Hospitality Management from Valencia Community College in Orlando, while working for the Walt Disney Company specializing in Outdoor Food and Beverage. He went on to manage Clamsters and Saddle Jacks restaurant for nine years. LaDuca relocated to Oregon with his family in 2004, progressing with employer Red Robin from Server to General Manager in three years. After two years, he and his team were among the top 10 percent in sales of 450 franchisees nationwide. La Duca believes successful food service depends on developing strong connections with guests and exceeding their dining expectations.

Amber Johnson - Part Time Instructor President and co-founder: ChefCertification.com and Educatorcredits.com

Amber has taught nutrition in food service and culinary fields for the past 16 years. Amber obtained her Bachelor's of Science Degree from California State University, Chico and completed her Dietetic internship at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU). She taught Nutrition for Culinary and Food Service Professionals at the ACF accredited Western Culinary Institute and has consulted and trained employees in Nutrition with corporations and retirement centers. Amber is currently the Culinary Nutrition Instructor at Cascades Culinary Institute.

Paul Wheeler - Part Time Instructor

Paul has worked at COCC since 2007; first as an Academic/Career Advisor and now as the Housing Coordinator. Paul began teaching part-time for COCC in 2008 for the math department, including coursework in Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, and Algebra II, and most recently has joined CCI as the insturctor for Culinary Math. Paul previously worked at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH as a Residence Hall Director for seven years. Paul has a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Idaho and a M.Ed. in Couseling from Plymoth State University. Paul grew up in Oregon (Rosebud and Medford) and enjoys living and recreating in Bend with his wife, son, and dog. Paul enjoys all forms of outdoor recreation and is an avid bicyle commuter.

Annemarie Hamlin- Part Time Instructor

Annemarie Hamlin began teaching writing and literature in 1993. Since joining the COCC faculty in 2007, she has taught developmental (pre-collegiate) reading and writing, first-year writing, technical writing, and creative writing (short fiction and poetry). She also regularly teaches American literature survey courses and such specialty classes as literature and medicine and children’s literature. Her long-standing interest in food and cooking led her to volunteer to collaborate with CCI to develop a first-year writing course for culinary students. She especially enjoys helping students explore their passions and talents through writing. Hamlin holds a Ph.D. in English and has published her research within academic publications on American literature; she has also published feature and autobiographical essays in magazines and trade books.

Mike Cooper - Dining Room Service Management Restaurant Industry Experience: 36 years Associates Degree, Culinary Arts - California Culinary Academy Bachelors Degree, Writing -University of Nebraska, Omaha

Mike Cooper brings over 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry to the Cascade Culinary Institute, from his first job as a line cook to leadership positions in some of the premiere establishments in the West. Mike's early career in fine dining led him to pursue an Associates Degree from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco in order to facilitate excellence in every aspect of guest service. He went on to manage destination restaurants in San Francisco and Carmel and has been involved in several restaurant openings including Crosswater in Sunriver. Mike spent twelve years as Food and Beverage Director for Deschutes Brewery, managing operations in Bend and opening the multi-million Deschutes Brewery Pub in the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon. Mike has developed a variety of highly successful training programs and operational manuals throughout his career. He has been actively involved in community health and development through the Sagebrush Classic, Project Connect and other not-for-profit endeavors. Mike holds every aspect of the hospitality industry to an impeccable standard with unwavering dedication and good humor.

John Nelson - Executive Chef Restaurant Industry Experience: 29 years

Chef Nelson with 29 years of professional experience grew up in the food and beverage business. His first taste of the food world started at a very young age, helping his mom at her clam chowder shack on the docks near the mouth of the Columbia River.Growing up in the Northwest in a commercial fishing family and as a hunter and gatherer has afforded chef Nelson an extensive and intimate knowledge of this regions rich and unparalleled bounty. From those days of his mom’s clam chowder shack, Chef Nelson has enjoyed a career rich with experience. After a successful run as chef of his family’s fine dining restaurant, chef Nelson embarked on an adventure to create something to call his own. Gathering all his new found skills and ideas from his travels and coupling this with his very unique knowledge of the bounty of the Northwest, Chef Nelson opened his first restaurant. After opening three more restaurants, and a catering business, Chef Nelson received many accolades domestic and abroad.  Fox News coined him as the ‘Salty Chef’ because of his use of old world techniques that include pickling and brining and bringing it to the modern plate. Chef Nelson then turned his attention to a new project in Central Oregon and joined the starting team of the prestigious Brasada Ranch. Here Chef Nelson started all Food and Beverage operations from the ground up that included a public and private restaurant and all event services. The food and beverage operations at Brasada embodied the farm to fork movement and once again Chef Nelson received many accolades for his work and involvement in the community.While working with local producers and getting the word out about how important our community growers are, Chef Nelson began getting the word out via television and creating a cook book defining true NW cuisine. This led Chef Nelson to a successful local television cooking show and featured on other shows as far away as Florida. After Brasada Ranch Chef Nelson continued to build two more restaurants this time for an East Coast based company. With all of these projects complete and experience under chef Nelson’s belt he feels it is now time to pass on his knowledge of the industry and help the next generation of talented food and beverage professionals be successful .  

Suzann Filmore - Fellow

As a fellow in Elevation Restaurant, I get to work with so many different types of people and it is this experience that is teaching me how to apply all of the skills I have learned while attending Cascade Culinary Institute. It starts from simple cooking technique and repetition, to communication and teamwork. I get to practice skills in the field and be creative while taking pride in the kitchen and my job. I am learning about menu writing, organization, event planning, execution, having a sense of urgency, and testing different recipes and how to make them better. Everyday I have the opportunity to learn something new while having fun doing what I love!

Ashley Brush - Fellow

I grew up in a small town and attended a very small high school that didn't offer many classes in the culinary arts. When I was 15 years old, I started my first job as a baker in a local pie shop. During my senior year at high school, I started looking at different culinary schools that I could attend. I knew I wanted to move somewhere new and I really liked Bend so I went to visit Casacde Culinary Institute and I was instantly welcomed by Chef Julian Darwin. I knew that this is where I wanted to attend culinary school.