About Chef Mark
Chef Mark is an accomplished chef who has fed everyone from U.S. Presidents to 75 Academy Award winners (all at once)...
At 17, Mark began as an apprentice in one of Philadelphia’s only French restaurants. Here he was exposed to true fine dining and all areas of the kitchen: soups, sauces, appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts.
At 18 he was accepted to the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York – the Harvard of cooking schools. During that time Mark also completed an apprenticeship at the acclaimed Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. After graduating the institute, Mark accepted a pastry cook position under certified Master Pastry Chef Gunther Heiland at the esteemed Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, DE.
After some well-invested time at the Hotel, Mark worked at a well-established country club in his home town before taking a job as a chef at a small country inn, giving him his first leadership position at only 21 years old.
Though with a desire to live the sun and beach lifestyle again, Mark relocated to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where his skill as a waiter and bartender in several great establishments grew for several years.
Back in the sunny locale of Florida, the urge to travel began to take shape, and Mark accepted a position as chef on a private luxury sailboat chartering the Caribbean during the winter season. This opened his eyes to a whole new world of people to serve who enjoyed the finest food and service.
After the winter season, Mark was offered a position as private chef for the owner of the yacht in Newport Beach, California. For several years he enjoyed cooking and entertaining, and his skills in doing so were polished in the company of some truly remarkable people.
In addition to working at the estate, Mark worked at several highly regarded establishments including the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel before founding Creme de la Creme Catering in 1989. From the inception, the goal was to live out the name chosen in every way possible: from customer services at first contact, creativity and presentation of the food, quality and expertise of service, to cleanup of events. For 23 years under Mark’s leadership and direction the company achieved this goal.
“I was fortunate to have so many great clients who referred me to other great clients. In the early years we developed an amazing list of Who’s Who in Orange County and were the go-to catering company if you wanted to impress. Through the years we constantly challenged ourselves to take catering to a new level, competing with just a small handful of competitors in the LA Basin.”
Early on, Chef Mark saw the need to have experts and consultants to help his company truly operate like a world class brand. In this, he and Creme de la Creme were lucky enough to be a part of numerous, fabulous opportunities, including:
Being selected as the catering company for many of Orange County’s most-desired event locations
Working with world-class event planners and destination management companies
Working with many Fortune 500 companies to please clients and solidify their brand
Catering a substantial portion of the Academy Awards Ceremonies for four years
Working with many high-level dignitaries such as 2 U.S. Presidents, foreign Heads of State, the leader of Congress, and international governmental and business leaders
Working with prestigious organizations like Rolls Royce, Lexus, Mercedes, Gucci, Nordstrom, and the Young Presidents Organization
Contact Chef Mark today to book your holiday party, special event, memorial service, or more….