Chef Shawn Kohlhaas, a seasoned 30 plus year veteran of the food service industry, has been leading the way in new and fresh approaches in the culinary field. His passions have been in farm-to-table initiatives with an emphasis on local organic and sustainable practices.
At age 20, Shawn apprenticed under Master Chef Karl Wenzel and quickly absorbed the nature of the restaurant culture found along the eastern seaboard. Shortly after, Shawn's father founded and created the Mountain Creek Tavern Restaurant. For seven years they masterfully executed a fine dining experience in a country setting with a menu focused on local ingredients.
Shawn then moved on to be the Food Consultant of Lowe’s Foods. There, he sharpened his retail knowledge until he was offered the prestigious position of Executive Chef for NASCAR. Here, he was responsible for the dining needs of all officials and executives on the NASCAR circuit. This opportunity challenged him to source everything from linens and china to food and localized specialty items for races which were in different locations every week.
Shawn moved to Grand Rapids, MI in 2004 where he found a new frontier in food culture. He quickly became the Regional Culinary Services Manager for the Unidine Corporation. With Unidine, he helped guide many culinary aspects for over 180 food service accounts from small retirement communities to multi-conceptual hospitals. He was able to institute high sanitation standards from his extensive training as a ServSafe Instructor and Proctor.
Shawn has focused his career on systems, tools and operations on food service operations and their food safety practices across all lines of food service operations. Currently Shawn is the acting lead consultant and CEO of Culinary Cultivations. His time is mostly spent with clients working on thier operation needs by suporting them with other Culinary Cultivations consultant team members as well as Culinary Cultivations sytems, tools and operational intellectual properties to assist thier clients with any operational needs they have.
Currently:
Principal and Lead Culinary Consultant for Culinary Cultivations.
Board Chair for the Greater Grand Rapids American Culinary Federation
Member of the Food Safety Advisory Board for the Kent County Health Department
Member of the Great Lakes Conference for Food Protection
Host of The Local Feed show on WYCE 88.1 FM Grand Rapids MI
One of 20 instructors of over 10,000 instructors to help develop the Servsafe materials and program
Culinary Chair and Judging Coordinator of the American Cancer Society 's Taste of Hope Charity Event
Nominations and Judging Chair of the Grand Rapids Hotel District's FAB Awards (Food and Beverage Industry Awards)
Coordinator of the Grand Rapids American Culinary Federation Chef Awards
Support Chair of the Feast for Kid's Charity Dinner to support Kid's Food Basket
Founder and Coordinator of the Grand Rapids American Culinary Federation Chef Brew Contest and Brew Launch Awards event
Awards
2013 ACF Professional Chef of the Year for Grand Rapids
2014 ACF Chef of the Year for Grand Rapids
2016 GRAPE Award for Excellence in the Culinary Field for The Grand Rapids Area Professionals for Excellence
2017 ACF Specialty Business Award for Grand Rapids
2019 ACF Specialty Business Award for Grand Rapids
2020 ACF Specialty Business Award for Grand Rapids
2021 ACF Specialty Business Award for Grand Rapids
2022 ACF Gimod de la Reyniere Award for Grand Rapids