Common Threads’ Chef Instructors are professional chefs and teachers, trained in Common Threads’ unique curriculum, who teach the students at each of our thirty sites throughout Chicago, as well as in Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, DC. Chef Instructors nurture and mentor our students, while leading them through the prep, cooking, clean-up and, of course, eating of the three hands-on ethnic recipes each week!
Rae Ellen Gutrich
Deborah Hornbeck
Curtis C. Jones Jr.
Douglas Lammie
Alexander Martin
Alekka Mills
Gonzalo Rodriguez Moran
Nicole Putzel
Betsy Robinson
Maggie Swanson
Samantha Vick-McGill
Geraldine Vo
Cheryl Williamson
Wendy Zacca
Geraldine
Vo is originally from Los Angeles, California where her interest in food began
at a very young age. She will tell you with pride that she grew up around the
corner from the Sriracha factory.
Traveling a long way
from home, she received her degree in Culinary Management at The Institute for
Culinary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska. It was in culinary school where she
discovered that food and learning can come together, promote creativity, and
affect change. She has taught abroad in Vietnam and Haiti, participating in
various culinary programs. As an educator, Geraldine believes in some way, that
food is the only form of expression that can engage all five senses. Sight: In
movement and presentation. Sound: The sizzles and pops during cooking, the
murmurs and ahhs during the consumption, and the conversation surrounding the
meal. Smell: The aromas wafting around the kitchen and the dining table. Taste:
The flavors, the sweet, and the savory. Touch: The feel of certain foods on the
tongue, in ones hand, at the tips of the fingers. Her hope is to influence the
way her students approach cooking and think about food. She adores working with
the students of Common Threads and is continually amazed by their dedication
and talents.