The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts

Instructors

Eli Aplerowicz
Elise Bayard Franklin
Julie Burba, CCP
Kim Dudek
Dave Gauvin
Master Pastry Chef Delphin Gomes
Ted Helms
Eliana Hussain, CCP
Dorothy Jacobson
Jen Lalime
Jenifer Murray, CCP
Amy Nesta, CCP
Steve Nill
Christian Nolen
Marie Perfetti
Debbie Powell
Kerry Purcell
Lisa Raffael
David Ramsey
Rebecca Reilly
Marcos Sanchez
Rebecca Scheier
Stephan Viau, CCP
Hong Xue

Eli Aplerowicz

A professional chef, Eli developed his expertise in Boston's finest kitchens, including The Meridien, Café Budapest, Veronique, Maison Robert, and the Ritz-Carlton, as well as through an apprenticeship at the 2-star Michelin Guide Restaurant, Les Trois Marches, in Versailles, France.

During an eight-year period as an instructor at Newbury College, Chef Eli designed, wrote, and taught the college’s Garde Manger and International Kitchen Programs. Eli has been favorably reviewed in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and the Boston Phoenix, as well as many other publications.

Now, Eli will bring his culinary flair and talent , with a narrated demonstration and preparation of classical and modern cuisines and techniques, to the Recreational Program at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.

Julie Burba, CCP

Chef Julie Burba is a graduate of Western Illinois University. After working for a decade in the public relations arena for non-profit organizations and universities in the Boston area, Julie pursued her culinary interests at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. She enrolled in the School's Professional Chef's Program and earned her diploma. After graduating, Julie joined the staff of Formaggio Kitchen as its Sous Chef/Catering Manager. At this time she began teaching in the School's Recreational Program and assisting the Food Basics instructors in the professional programs. She also began her own catering business, specializing in corporate events. In January of 2004, she began teaching Food Basics and American Cuisine in the Professional Chef's and Culinary Certificate Programs. Julie also worked as a line cook at Tomasso Trattoria and Enoteca in Southborough, Massachusetts. She earned the Certified Culinary Professional certificate from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) in March 2003. She also received a certificate of wine from Boston University and is a sanctioned judge for the Kansas City Barbeque Society. She teaches regional American Cuisines, Grilling, Food Basics, Holiday Baking, Cooking Couples, and specialty classes in the Recreational Department.

Master Pastry Chef Delphin Gomes

Master Pastry Chef Delphin Gomes, New England’s only French master pastry chef, joined the faculty at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts (CSCA) as the Director of the Professional Pastry Program in September 2005. Gomes brings to the CSCA more than 20 years of teaching experience and more than 34 years of patisserie experience. Gomes, working with CSCA owner/director Roberta Dowling, created the Professional Pastry and Certificate Pastry Program curricula. In addition to his directorship and teaching responsibilities, Gomes will create and teach a series of introduction to pastry classes specifically for the CSCA’s Recreational Program.

Chef Delphin founded Delphin's Gourmandise School of Pastry in 1987. He established Delphin's Gourmandise Fine French Patisserie in the same year, which quickly garnered acclaim from culinary professionals and the press alike, including Boston Magazine's Best of Boston three consecutive years: 1989–1991. In addition, Boston's leading newspaper, The Boston Globe, featured Gomes' outstanding craftsmanship when he and his staff provided pastries for President George Bush and President Francois Mitterrand of France at an event held at Boston University in 1994 (President Mitterrand requested that Master Pastry Chef Delphin Gomes bake the Opera Cake to be served at the event). In April 2002, the Globe published a feature article about Delphin’s Gourmandise School of Pastry, and in 2005 The Globe published an article about Gomes' program at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Adding to these honors are awards accumulated in France from various pastry competitions: Gold Medal at Grand Palais, Paris, 1978; Charles Proust Silver Medal, 1978; First Prize at Grand Prix Patisseries, Arpajon, 1979; St. Michel Diploma, Society of French Pastry Chefs, Paris, 1980; and Diploma, Dijon Culinary Fair, Dijon, 1981.

Gomes, at the age of 14, apprenticed in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, France, and went on to train with Jean Creveux, MOF, at Ecole de Patisserie de Vincennes. He took courses at Le Notre to earn the distinction Brevet de Maitrise-Master Pastry Chef in 1976. In 1978, he began working at Dalloyau, Paris' premier pastry shop, where Francois Mitterrand was a frequent patron. This fame led to an invitation to work as Executive Pastry Chef at L'Ermitage, Los Angeles, in 1981, where Charlton Heston and Rod Stewart frequently dined. In 1985 he became the Executive Pastry Chef at West Beach Cafe and Rebecca's Restaurants in Venice, CA. Prior to moving to Boston in 1986, Gomes' last hurrah was the making of Jim Carrey's wedding cake (to Melissa Worner).

For the past 15 years, Gomes has been involved with numerous charity organizations, including the Annual Anthony Spinazzola Festival Gala of Food and Wine, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Share Our Strength Organization. This allowed him to give back to the community that had solidly supported his professional and personal endeavors. Master Pastry Chef Delphin Gomes is now able to fulfill his dream: to pass on the intensive traditional training and techniques that he learned while an apprentice in rural France and mastered in Paris. Master Pastry Chef Gomes teaches several pastry arts classes in the Recreational Department.

Eliana Hussain, CCP

Eliana Hussain graduated from the Professional Chef’s Program at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in 2004; she also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Louisiana State University. In the summer of 2004, Eliana earned her Certified Culinary Professional certificate from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). In the year following graduation from The CSCA, Eliana divided her time between assisting in the Food Basics and Baking curricula in the Professional Chef’s Program and traveling through the United States, Canada, Europe, and Pakistan. In early 2005, she started her own business as a personal chef and began writing a food column for a Canadian quarterly magazine. Recently, Eliana has started teaching a variety of classes in the Recreational Department. She specializes in Cajun/Creole, Spanish, Spanish-Caribbean, Moroccan, and North Indian cuisine.

Jenifer Murray, CCP

Jenifer Murray, CCP, received her BA in Social Work from Eastern Connecticut State University. She enrolled in the Professional Chef’s Program at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts after concluding that her true passion was food; however, she has managed to combine the two by teaching cooking classes to teenage girls who have been placed in group homes or juvenile detention. Upon graduating in 2002 she went on to receive her Certified Culinary Professional certificate from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). Immediately, she began to assist the baking portion of the curriculum within the Professional Chef’s Program for several semesters and became a personal chef for a family of 4 in Brookline. Several months later she began to teach within the Recreational Program at The CSCA. She currently owns The Urban Chef, Inc., and caters for various events including in-home culinary classes as well as commercial shoots for Talbot's, Comcast, Boston Market, and Hood. Her favorite classes to teach are South of the Border and Sassy, Saucy, Salsa as she loves Mexican and Southwestern cuisine.

Amy Nesta, CCP

Amy Nesta is a 2003 High Honors graduate of The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Her diverse culinary experience includes running her own catering business, recipe testing for a renowned cookbook author, and positions with restaurants and a bed and breakfast. In addition, she worked as a line cook in the Cafe at the former Ritz-Carlton Boston. Amy is also an instructor at Eurostoves Culinary Centre. She has a BA in French and Journalism from Rutgers College. Chef Nesta currently teaches the baking component in the Culinary Certificate Program and baking classes in the Recreational Program.

Steve Nill

Steve Nill loves celebrating family and friends with good food. He has transformed his Harvard MBA and 30-year financial career with some of Boston ’s best-known technology companies into an incredibly satisfying career in professional cooking.

Steve graduated at the top of his class in The CSCA's Professional Chef’s Program in 2007. While in School, his love of Italian food led him to augment his studies in Umbria , Italy, and in several restaurant kitchens in Boston. Currently, Steve divides his time between cooking at Rialto Restaurant in Cambridge under Jody Adams, one of the nation’s leading chefs, and teaching. He is a teaching assistant in the Professional Chef’s and Culinary Certificate Programs and regularly teaches the Back to Basics series and other classes in the Recreational Program. Steve’s enthusiasm for good food and cooking is contagious and his joy in sharing useful tips and techniques afford all the opportunity to gain confidence in the kitchen.

Marie Perfetti

Marie Perfetti graduated from the Professional Chef’s Program in January 2005 with high honors. She was also the recipient of the Blossom Award for growth and progress. Marie's culinary experience ranges from running a small catering business, positions in area bakeries and caterers, instructional cooking demos for Williams & Sonoma, to product testing for the Cooking Club of America. She specializes in desserts and cakes for all occasions. Marie currently teaches in the baking component of the Professional Chef’s Program as well as classes in the Recreation Program

Debbie Powell

Debbie Powell graduated with honors from The CSCA's Professional Chef's Program in January 2005. She is also the recipient of the Madeleine Kammen Award, which recognizes the ability to bridge technique and flavor in cooking. Debbie pursued her love and interest in the culinary arts after a career in finance and raising a family. Debbie assisted in both the culinary and baking segments of the CSCA curriculum after graduating.

For Debbie, cooking is an expression of love and food is the ultimate common human denominator. Learning to be facile, mindful, creative, and resourceful in the kitchen can be a gratifying and joyful experience. Debbie has taught in the Recreational Program and the Teen cooking programs since September 2005. She teaches Back to Basics, Cooking Couples, The Pulse of Life, Regional French Classes (where she has lived and traveled extensively), and Regional Italian Classes. She has also taught chef’s courses to middle school students at The Tower School in Marblehead.

Lisa Raffael

Not always a pastry chef, Lisa Raffael’s life pre-sugar, piping bags, and cake pans was filled with marketing positions for industrial companies. Lacking passion, she explored various options through career counseling and discovered that her true passion was cooking. Raffael enrolled in the Professional Chef’s Program at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in 1991, earning a Culinary Arts diploma in 1992. Upon graduation, she worked for Steve DiFillippo, also a graduate of The CSCA, at Davio’s Restaurant as an assistant pastry chef. During this time she launched Delicious Desserts in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Due to the commute from the Cape to Boston, she left Davio’s, balancing three part-time jobs to make ends meet, including opening the bakery department of the Windfall Market. Delicious Desserts soon became popular with wedding cake reservations happening a year in advance of the big day.

Lisa continued studying pastry arts at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and trained under the guidance of Norman Love, Worldwide Corporate Pastry Chef of the Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Most recently, Lisa studied at The International School of Confectionary Arts in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with Colette Peters, internationally acclaimed cake designer and best-selling author.

In November 2005 Lisa appeared on the Food Network’s "Ultimate Wedding Cake Challenge," where she competed “piping bag to piping bag” with five other wedding cake designers; she received third place. The show aired in June 2006. She also appeared on the Food Network’s "Celebration Cakes" this past February, which was aired the last week of July 2006; she received second place. Lisa was invited to make her third appearance on Challenge in April 2008. The show, a nursery rhyme-themed cake contest airs in the fall of 2008. Raffael's Delicious Desserts was voted "A-List Best Wedding Cake" by CBS Channel 4 in July 2006 and July 2007. Delicious Desserts was also voted 2008 Best Cake on Cape Cod and The Islands by CityVoter A-List.

Raffael teaches the baking component in the Professional Chef's Program.

Rebecca Reilly

As a graduate of the renowned Cordon Blue Cooking School of Paris, Rebecca Reilly’s professional training also includes certificates from Le Notre Patissiere in Plaisir, France. In addition, Rebecca received a chef’s diploma from Madeleine Kamman’s Modern Gourmet Cooking School in Boston.

Rebecca is the former owner of the Madd Apple Café and Rebecca’s Kitchen, a catering firm and cooking school in Portland, Maine. For ten years Rebecca was regularly featured as the on-air chef in cooking segments on Maine’s NBC affiliate, WCSH News Center 6. She also hosted the popular television series, New England Kitchen.

Rebecca has been involved with numerous cooking schools and restaurants throughout the Northeast as both chef and consultant. As a private caterer and nutritional consultant, she has demonstrated her special knack for cooking and her love of sophisticated cuisine while accepting the nutritional challenges of providing nutritious and gluten-free kitchen, tips, techniques, and sources for ingredients, plus a list of resources and information on celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

After a distinguished career in the culinary field Rebecca Reilly joined the Torte Knox Recreational Cooking School and Culinary Resource Library Team in Hawley, Pennsylvania, in 2004. Chef Reilly will teach vegan and gluten-free classes in the School's Recreational Program

Rebecca believes strongly that it is possible for mealtimes to please all the senses. She strives professionally and personally to demonstrate her belief that food is all about “health”—emotional and physical.

Marcos Sanchez

Marcos Sanchez is originally from the San Francisco area. At a young age, Marcos says he could always be found in the kitchen. His passion for cooking brought him to Boston to explore his culinary talents at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts through its Professional Chef's Program. He graduated in January 2005 and received high honors in his laboratory work. He currently works at Dante Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has his own personal chef business. Chef Marcos has been teaching in our Recreational Program since 2006.

Rebecca Scheier, CCP

Rebecca Scheier left a long career as an attorney to attend The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. She graduated with high honors from the Professional Chef’s Program in January 2008. Prior to attending the program, Rebecca worked in the kitchen of the catering business, Short Order Gourmet in Acton, Massachusetts.

Rebecca earned the Certified Culinary Professional (CCP) designation from The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) soon after her graduation. She teaches a variety of cooking classes in the Recreational Department at The CSCA, as well as in the cooking programs for children and adults at Create-a-Cook in Newton, Massachusetts. Rebecca owns her own business, Tie Your Apron, which provides in-home culinary instruction and hosts cooking parties for children and adults for all occasions.

Rebecca is a member of The CSCA Alumni Board and The International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Stephan Viau, CCP

Chef Stephan Viau earned his culinary diploma in January 1992 from the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. As a student he worked for a catering company in Boston. He entered the hotel industry after graduation by working in the kitchens of the Marriott and Sheraton Hotels in various capacities. He worked for five years for several seasonal restaurants and bakeries on Cape Cod.

Stephan volunteers for the Cape Cod Counsel on Aging teaching cooking classes. He teaches the foundations of cooking for both the Professional Chef’s Program and the Culinary Certificate Program at The CSCA. Stephan serves as the Chairperson for the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Certification Committee, which awards the noted Certified Culinary Professional (CCP) certificate. He has been instrumental in constructing satellite testing sites for the CCP Exam at The CSCA and at other culinary institutions.

Stephan is a member of the IACP, American Culinary Federation, The American Institute of Wine & Food, James Beard Foundation, Slow Food, and Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust.

Chef Stephan teaches the Back to Basics Series and other classes in the Recreational Program.

Hong Xue

Hong Xue graduated from the Professional Chef's Program at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in 2004 with honors and received the Tom Bromby Award for creativity. Hong is known for her creativity in Asian-Fusion cuisine and her carving skills with the knife. She has done presentations with fruit and vegetable carved flower-style arrangements. Her intricate and creative arrangements were presented by The CSCA the last three years at the Anthony Spinazzola Food & Wine Gala. She is chef instructor in Recreational Program, instructor in the Asian-Fusion curriculum for the Professional Chef's Program, and garnishing instructor for students in the Professional Chef's and Professional Pastry Programs seminars at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.

Hong is also a free-lancing food stylist for CB Group Photography in Rhode Island.

Recreational Programs