Stephen 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. 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.

John Peters – Wine Director

“With any great meal there is a great wine,” says Wine Director John Peters, who has worked in the wine business for nearly three decades.

With his father and brother, John founded Wide World of Wines in 1982, and ran the retail business through 1989, where he hand-selected wines from vineyards from all over the world.  After the sale of the family wine business, John went to work for Continental Liquors until 1994. 

During his career, he was invited to speak about wine at the National Press Club, the Decanter Club, The Greenbriar, The Homestead, and the French and Australian embassies.

In 1997, John became the Mid-Atlantic marketing manager for De Loach Vineyards, until he left the company in 2003. John brings a wealth of knowledge and a passion for the marriage of food and wine to Culinaria Cooking School. John is ServSafe certified in the DC Metro area.

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.

Stefanie Sacripante

A student of James Beard Award winning author James Peterson, Stefanie Sacripante holds a Career Cooking Diploma from the Institute for 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.

Binni Chadda

Binni is an avid home cook and baker and honed her cooking skills as an assistant at L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, MD for the past 8 years. In her spare time, she is actively involved with Team In Training, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's fundraising and endurance event training program and Brainfood, a Washington, DC non-profit organization that uses food and cooking to teach high school students life skills, empowering youth to be positive resources in their own community. Binni is co-owner of Small Comforts Bakeshop, specializing in making small batches of nostalgic baked goods from scratch.

Binni graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science and the University of Michigan with a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology. She has been working in the health research field for 10 years.

Suwanna Harrison

All the way from Sydney, Australia, Chef Suwanna brings 10 years of restaurant, hotel and catering experience to Culinaria, including stints in Sydney's Four Seasons and Virginia's own 2941. Growing up in a household of chefs and pastry chefs, her love of food took her to Ryde TAFE college. Suwanna has competed in and won various competitions, including winning the Bronze medal for Australia in the 2007 Worldskills Competition in Shizuoka, Japan. Her passion for Asian cuisine complements the flavors and ingredients she selects, with a touch of French or Italian influence. Suwanna is a seasoned and talented chef who looks forward to teaching skills from the cutting board to the plate.

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.

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 live. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Nina Paul

With a background in business but a passion for pastry, Nina joined the sweet side of the Culinaria team.

Nina's philosophy is simple. Baking is not the result of blindly following recipes. Successful pastry techniques are driven by an understanding of ingredients, conditions and temperature as well as an application of artistic creativity. Exceptional cakes and desserts must look beautiful and taste amazing. From petit fours to multi-tiered wedding cakes, her promise to students, clients and friends remains the same…it will taste even better than it looks!

A graduate of the McIntire School of Commerce at UVA, Nina retired from a successful consulting career to follow the calling of chocolate, butter, sugar and flour. In addition to creating cakes, candies and specialty desserts for large and small events, she has been studying, assisting and teaching since 2008. She completed both 20-week courses in Pastry Techniques and Culinary Techniques and had extensive full time training in advanced cake design. Nina is ServSafe certified in the DC Metro area.

Barlin Ali

Barlin's home is in the United States but she was born in Africa. She has traveled extensively through Europe and the Middle East. Her travels as well as her interest and exposure to differing cultures and her proximity to Washington D.C. gave her an opportunity to experience the rich culture and variety of ethnic cuisines available in the area. Her cookbook, the "Somali Cuisine," was published in June 2007 and is the only one of its kind. Barlin's cookbook was entered in the 2008 annual Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Frankfurt, Germany, and was placed among the front runners in its contemporaries. Barlin is the founder and owner of Somali Tea & Treats, a provider of gourmet Somali tea. In addition to her love for cooking, Barlin helps victims of international disasters in her capacity as the Program Coordinator of the Center for International Disaster Information.

Melissa McGowan

After 12 years in the corporate world, Melissa McGowan decided she needed a break from the daily grind and the 2+ hour commute around the Beltway. An avid fan of everything food related, she was delighted to find there was a new cooking school right in her neighborhood. On a whim, she contacted the school to see if they had a need for any office help and the rest is history. Melissa began working at Culinaria in September of 2011 as the Office Manager. She is responsible for day to day administrative tasks as well as coordinating the volunteer Assistants Program and the creation of the school's catalog, published three times yearly.

Melissa graduated from James Madison University in 1999 with a Bachelors degree in Marketing. She began her career with Marriott International as a sales manager, working for several different Marriott properties in Northern Virginia. In 2005 she was awarded Marriott's "Golden Circle" award for outstanding sales performance. That same year she began working at Marriott Corporate Headquarters in Bethesda MD, responsible for developing sales and events software training materials and curricula. Melissa is delighted to have joined the team at Culinaria, not only for the fun and relaxed atmosphere, but for the fantastic food she gets to sample!

Tom Hughes

Tom Hughes gained his culinary knowledge through work experience. While going to college for a philosophy degree he rediscovered his love for cooking while working in a college bar and grill. He went on to work at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay and over the last ten years has gained experience through catering, restaurants, hotel banquets and finally teaching. "teaching has really given me back my passion for cooking." Since becoming a teacher he has worked for Sur La Table, Open Kitchen, Tiny Chefs and Cookology.

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.