Our Team

 Stephen P. Sands – Co-founder and CEO

Stephen began his culinary career in 1989 as the lead assistant for Francois Dionot, the director and founder of L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, MD. Stephen assisted both L’Academie chefs, and visiting guest chefs, ensuring the execution of classes for the chefs was seamless; and assisted students in the participation classes with instruction and techniques during classes.

He graduated from L’Academie de Cuisine’s part-time professional program in 1996, and began teaching as a chef/instructor at the school. There, he developed curricula and original recipes for classes he taught at L’Academie. Stephen taught both demonstration and participation classes, and also instructed L’Academie’s private parties and team building events.

In 2004, Stephen formed Capital Food Partners, LLC, along with his business partner Pete Snaith, as a cooking school and catering company. He left L’Academie de Cuisine as a chef/instructor in the spring of 2009, and retired in March 2010 after working for 35 years as a nuclear engineer working for Westinghouse, Exxon, and NRC to pursue the development of the Culinaria Cooking School.

Pete Snaith – Co-founder and Executive Vice President

In 1999, Pete began his cooking career taking classes at L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, MD — and, he says, it opened a new world for him. This is where he met his business partner Stephen Sands, and attended both the 12 week and 20 week professional courses. Pete was also an assistant at L’Academie de Cuisine for 3 years.

He also trained at the Culinary Institute of Florence in 2007. There, he learned from many top chefs while at the school, and was able to teach a cooking class at the Institute. Pete cooked with Chef Andrea Trapani from the Culinary Institute of Florence, Italy, at the James Beard House in New York City and worked with Chef Jonathan Krinn during the opening of his Restaurant 2941.

Pete taught cooking classes at Sur la Table in Arlington, La Cuisine in Old Town Alexandria, and The Culinary School of the Philippines. He is also the author of “The Street Chef,” a cookbook that sold in the U.S., Canada, England, Russia, Philippines, and Italy.

In 2009, after 26 years as an engineer, Pete retired to develop Culinaria.

Brian Batsel

A former Navy officer, Brian Batsel developed a love of cooking and exploring new cuisines during his Navy travels throughout the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and the Pacific.  His final sea tour on a patrol boat in Key West led him to appreciate catching and cooking the freshest seafood, while enjoying the tropical ingredients and influences found in “Keys Cuisine”.  Brian left the Navy in 1990 to pursue his passion to be a chef.  He graduated with honors in 1991 from L’Academie Cuisine in Bethesda, MD.  Since then, he has worked his way up from line cook, to sous-chef, to chef de cuisine, and finally as chef/owner of his own fine dining restaurant.  Brian worked with renowned southwestern chef Mark Miller while opening Red Sage restaurant, as well as with French two-star Michelin chef, Gerard Panguad.  Brian’s restaurant and hotel experience includes work at Red Sage, Gerard’s Place, The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, and The Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, where he was chef de cuisine.  Chef Batsel combined his knowledge of Southwestern, French, and Asian cuisines when operating his own successful restaurant, Café Atlantis, in Amelia Island, Florida.  Currently on hiatus from the restaurant business in order to have more time for his family, Brian teaches school here in Vienna at Wolftrap Elementary School.  Brian is excited to be sharing his love of cooking with students at Culinaria – from basic knife skills and stocks to exciting regional cuisines. Brian is ServSafe certified in the DC Metro area.

Roberto Forgione

As a young boy, Roberto spent countless hours in his New Jersey kitchen watching his Italian mother and grandmother prepare family recipes, which filled their home with the smells of old-world goodness. In his teens, he learned to prepare these wonderful traditional dishes, and now with his training as a professional chef, he shares his cooking abilities with his clients. Since 1997, Roberto has worked in the food service industry, first as an assistant deli manager, then teaching cooking classes with the Adult Education Program in Fairfax County, and most recently running his own personal chef business. Roberto’s Creative Cuisine provides in-home meal preparation and cooking classes, as well as catering for dinner parties and corporate events. Roberto’s dedication to his students at Culinaria and his personal clients is his number one priority in providing excellent service. Roberto is a proud member of the USPCA (United States Personal Chef Association) and Capital Chefs. Roberto’s catering company is insured with the USPCA and he is ServSafe certified in the DC Metro area.

Emily Frizell, R.D.

Long before Emily ever thought the word “chef” she knew she wanted to be a registered dietitian. When Emily applied to the dietetics program at Virginia Tech, she only had an interest in the science of nutrition, not the science of cooking. As time went on, Emily gained more and more interest in cooking and trying new recipes.

Once she completed her dietetic internship at the University of Connecticut, Emily began working at a doctor’s office counseling patients for weight loss surgery, diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. During these years, Emily’s passion for cooking and her desire to learn more about the culinary arts deepened. She then completed the professional program at the International Centre for Culinary Arts in Dubai, focusing on classical continental cuisine.

Emily loves experimenting with foods with a mission to prove that foods can be both nutritious and delicious. She works in a variety of ways to show how to create delicious, good-for-you meals. She conducts cooking lessons, nutrition counseling, and wellness seminars. You may even see her at the farmer’s market doing a cooking demonstration with fresh ingredients.

Mary Grant

Cooking has been a passion of Mary’s since she was eleven years old when she helped prepare meals for her family of nine. At that time the challenge was to prepare a healthy, tasty meal on a budget. Today, Mary reads cookbooks like others read novels. She has over 400 cookbooks and takes great pleasure in experimenting with new recipes and experimenting with ingredients she has on hand. Although, for the most part, self-taught, Mary has taken many cooking classes over the years and has been an active volunteer in Culinaria’s Assistants Program.

Mary is currently the COO for a small healthcare technology company. As an executive in the Healthcare Industry, she has extensive experience in operations, training, process reengineering, and technology. She recently developed an educational program for middle school students to teach them the importance of health and wellness including nutrition and exercise.

Johnnie R. Lawton

Johnnie R. Lawton is a professional Chef with more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant and catering business. First influenced by the southern cooking of his mother and grandmothers, he enjoyed cooking at home and to finance his college education. After working as an accountant, he discovered he missed the kitchen too much and has worked full time in the food industry since.

While training at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, Johnnie worked behind the scenes at PBS cooking shows such as “Cooking at the Academy” and “Yan Can Cook” and was awarded several honors such as “Best Tasting in Show” by the Livermore Valley Wine Association at their annual food and wine-pairing event. Following graduation from the CCA, Johnnie worked as the Pastry Chef and then Sous Chef at Chez TJ’s, a well know restaurant on the SF peninsula.

Johnnie returned to the East Coast to work at the Inn at Little Washington and later worked at Vidalia, in Washington, DC. He was Executive Chef at Mango Mike’s, a favorite local Caribbean restaurant, when it first opened. In order to spend more time with his young family, Johnnie opened Movable Feast Catering in 2001. Johnnie is excited to combine his experience with a wide range of food styles and food cultures, wine pairings, and use of fresh and local ingredients with his desire to share this love of food with others here at Culinaria Cooking School.

Marilena Leavitt

Marilena Leavitt was born and raised in Greece in an environment where fresh, seasonal food has played a central and traditional role in everyday life. She began her exploration of the many aspects of Mediterranean cuisine while a student at the University of Athens. She broadened her experiences with Italian cooking through living in Italy for many years. She considers herself privileged to have had the opportunity to attend a cooking school in Rome, where regional Italian cuisine was introduced, discussed, prepared, and enjoyed in its many rich and subtle variations.

Marilena began teaching small groups of students the art of the Greek kitchen while living in Rome. Upon her return to the United States, she continued and expanded the range and breadth of her instruction to include Italian cooking in addition to her Greek classes. In June 2010 Marilena completed a six-month, intensive, culinary course at L’Academie de Cuisine in Maryland. The course concentration on traditional French cuisine and classic cooking techniques helped her expand her knowledge and add French cooking to her repertoire.

After completing her certificate, she had the opportunity to assist a variety of instructors and visiting chefs at l’Academie and continued to learn from them. In the Fall of 2010, she became a member of the American Personal and Private Chef Association (APPCA).

Marilena joined the team at Culinaria Cooking School in February 2011, where she teaches a variety of classes from Greek and Italian regional cooking, to bread making, to seasonal desserts. Marilena is ServSafe certified in the DC Metro area.

Diana Nash

Diana Nash left a career in Event Planning, Marketing and Business Development to pursue her dream of becoming a chef.  Diana has always had a passion for cooking and creating recipes.  Prior to her professional career in the high-tech industry, she worked for many restaurants in her early twenties.  
 
In 2002, Diana studied Culinary Arts at Kendall College in Chicago, IL where she graduated first in her class and was a member of the Student Culinary Board.  While in school, she traveled to France to attend culinary classes at Lycee Technique Hotelier Regional de Marseille as well as the Bocuse d’Or and World Pastry Cup.  In fact, she assisted Hartmut Handke, the chef representing the United States at the Bocuse d’Or at a large Chicago event.   Diana also developed R&D recipes for The Solae Company.  
 
Toward the end of her studies, Diana worked for one of Chicago’s top catering firms, The Entertaining Company, under Executive Chef, Shawn Doolin.  From there, she took a position working at Blackbird, consistently a Top 10 Chicago restaurant, under Chef Paul Kahan, one of Food & Wine’s Top 10 Chefs in 1998.  
 
Since moving to Northern Virginia in 2004, Diana has catered many functions for corporations, family and friends.  She currently cooks for a severe high-allergy child and one day would like to write a cookbook on that subject.  She also has three young children and runs her own business, dnash Demo Kitchen & Design.  This is her opportunity to share her knowledge about food, kitchen organization and design with others.  Diana’s food is delicious, creative and elegant.  Her fun personality and lively sense of humor are just a taste as to why her clients keep coming back for more. 

Carla Powe

Food and cooking have been life long interests of Carla’s, and in 2010, after having retired as an executive from a major defense contractor, she decided to pursue her passion by receiving formal culinary training. Carla received a certificate for the Culinary Techniques 101 (CT101) course within the Professional School at L’Academie de Cuisine, Bethesda, MD. Since then, although she has returned to a full time position in industry, Carla has been laying the groundwork for her “second career” in the culinary field and is excited to have the opportunity, through teaching at Culinaria, to share her passion for good food that can be prepared by anyone. Carla and her husband are also delving into wines. They have traveled to wonderful areas of the world to learn about wines, including the Piedmont region of Italy, the Cotes du Rhone region of France, and have made multiple trips to the Central Coast of California. Carla is ServSafe certified in the DC Metro area.

Stefanie Sacripante

A student of James Beard Award winning author James Peterson, Stefanie Sacripante holds a Career Cooking Diploma from the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC. She brings years of banquet and hotel management experience to Culinaria, including a stint at New York’s legendary Le Cirque.

Between growing up in an international family that loves to travel, and researching cookbooks every spare moment she has, Stefanie is very knowledgeable of world cuisines. (She also boasts a diverse collection of over 200 cookbooks!)

Stefanie’s other career experience includes managing one of New York’s top film post production studios for 10 years, and four years in television post production at National Geographic TV & Film. Stefanie is ServSafe certified in the DC Metro area.

Jerry Sanders

Growing up in a military family that was transferred every two years to bases both in and out of the US, Jerry was exposed to many different types of food cultures as a child. As a result, he has a wide appreciation for the wonderful variety of cuisines that exist. While he enjoys Southwestern, Mexican, Caribbean, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Greek and Spanish, his real favorite is anything with chilies in it. “It’s not about seeing how hot you can make a dish, but about adding the smoky complexity and spice and balancing those additional flavors with the dish.” Being from Texas, many of his courses will be centered around both traditional and contemporary Southwestern cuisine. This will include courses on smoking and grilling, for which Texas is well known.

After retiring from 37 years in corporate banking, he’s had the time to broaden his skills while working with the chefs at Culinaria over the past two years. His approach to cooking is “this isn’t work, it’s fun!”. Jerry looks forward to including his Southwestern style in the broad array of cuisines the Culinaria offers.

Michelle Scholtes

Michelle Scholtes is a DC native with a knack for cooking and an obsession for tasty local restaurants. She developed a passion for food at a young age, while watching Julia Child on Saturday mornings, and taught herself how to cook during college (after one too many hot pockets). Michelle auditioned for the NBC show Food Fighters in 2013 and made it through seven rounds.  The techniques she used for her winning dishes were honed at Culinaria, where she has been an assistant since 2012.  Michelle caters for family and friends, and you can keep up with her and her recipes on her blog at hangrydistrict.com.

Mike Selman

Mike Selman’s love affair with food and cooking dates back to childhood.  He learned basic culinary skills by trial and error in college.  His passion and expertise developed as he cooked for family and friends and has done private catering for the past twenty years.

He has been a teaching assistant at L’Academie de Cuisine for nine years and graduated from the 20 week Fundamental Culinary Techniques program in 2005.  He has worked with hundreds of students helping to perfect their culinary skills and technique.

Mike has also participated at several public events including the Washington DC Food and Wine Festival, A Taste of France at the French Embassy, the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show and Uncorked, the Rockville Wine and Music Festival.

His food is often inspired by what is fresh seasonally and influenced by the culinary flavors of Italy and Asia. The only thing he enjoys more than food and cooking is sharing his passion.  He looks forward to doing that with his students at Culinaria. Mike is ServSafe certified in the DC Metro area.

Christine Wisnewski

Christine’s family tree includes a butcher and a green grocer. She is sure her genetic history and her family’s food-centered traditions are the reason for her love of food. An early win in a cake-decorating contest kicked off Christine’s interest in baking. She eventually went on to work in an Italian bakery in New York, which further fueled her love of bread and pastry, and taught her the importance of quality customer service. Since January 2011, Christine has been an active volunteer in Culinaria’s Assistants Program.

Christine has a M.S. in Environmental Science from Johns Hopkins. She is particularly interested in issues of sustainability, local sourcing of ingredients, and in making sense of the vast amounts of information out there on the relationship between food and health.

Professionally, Christine is currently Director of Projects at Sound Science LLC, an environmental consulting firm. She is an accomplished trainer and facilitator, and has experience developing workshops and writing training materials. She hopes to make the most of these skills in Culinaria’s kitchens.

An avid home cook and self-taught chef, Christine’s primary responsibility today involves finding creative ways to feed her family healthful meals, despite their hectic schedules. She welcomes every opportunity to teach the pleasures of the table, and to encourage people to create their own traditions. Christine is ServSafe certified in the DC Metro area.

Sherry McCrary