GERMANY

I am originally from Germany, and this is where my culinary journey began. Where I grew up, one was expected to make a career decision by the age of 16. Fortunately, I knew I wanted to be a chef.

After two years of vocational training—culinary and academic, I began as a chef-apprentice in a nationally renowned, 2 Michelin-star Hotel and Restaurant in idyllic Garmisch Partenkirchen, a ski resort about 1.5 hours south of Munich. “If you can make it here, you will make it anywhere” I was told. After three years of what turned out to be a magical experience in a spectacular location, I moved on to another Michelin-star restaurant close by—expanding my experience and skills which earned me a Demi and Chef Tournant title. After working in several other Michelin-star restaurants throughout Germany, I felt I was ready to expand my horizons. Next stop—London.

ENGLAND

On Kings Road in London, I worked for a French restaurant called Le Bagatelle and earned my first Sous Chef title. I worked tirelessly and was rewarded with a compliment from the Bagatelle owner when I left for the next chapter in my career: "Your food presentation is beautiful and your dishes taste amazing—every day and every time…you always strive for and achieve the best possible.” These kind words were like a 5-star friandise for my time in London and remain in my heart to this day.

AMERICA

My Oma always told me, “Joachim, in America you can go from dishwasher to hotel owner!” I was always fascinated with America, the opportunity sounded exciting, and fortunately, some relatives who lived in California welcomed me with open arms. 

Within a few weeks, I landed a position as a private chef working for a successful businessman in Malibu, California, and at his other residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I cooked for the family on a daily basis, at special events, and for private dinner parties. This experience, while very different from the day-to-day hustle of the Michelin-star restaurant world was eye-opening and life-changing for me. I became part of the family and my employer became my “American dad”. This former client is in his 90s—we still keep in touch and I have visited him on occasion over the years. 

In addition to being a wonderful employer and person, he also introduced me to my beautiful wife, Kaye (33 years ago). Kaye has been my strength, support, and shining bright light over the years. She stuck with me through thick and thin and gave birth to our son Christopher. From sunny Malibu, we decided to live in Denver, Kaye's hometown; and there were plenty of opportunities for me to expand my career.  

My French restaurant experience led me to Chateau Pyrenees in Denver, a classical French restaurant. After a year or so, I realized that the 70-to-100-hour weeks were not conducive to semi-normal family life. 

I researched teaching culinary arts as an opportunity which led to a 29-year career as a culinary instructor—starting at Emily Griffith Opportunity school and then moving on to Warren Tech. Along with the help of other local chefs, we established a very successful apprenticeship program called the Rocky Mountain Chefs of Colorado. The college program was a cornerstone project for my Master’s degree in adult education.

During summers off from teaching I remained up-to-date and competent within the industry through catering, working at various country clubs—and for many years assisting at the prestigious Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. 

After retiring from teaching in 2020 I joined The Club at Rolling Hills, working side-by-side with former students and experiencing the joy of seeing them succeed from lessons learned in my classroom.

During the summer of 2022, I reevaluated my life, did a bit of soul-searching, and thought “what’s next?" The memories of my Private Chef experience came to mind as one of the most enjoyable times in my career and I thought “why not!” 

I’ve come full circle, back to the most exciting and rewarding thing I love doing— taking care of people through my passion for cooking.