| Chef Piet Vanden Hogan | Chris Holen | Josh Anderson | Lamont Hansen |
| Chef Gunn | Chef Gary Puetz | Chef Zeb Johnson |

Geoff Gunn

CHEF GEOFF GUNN Geoff Gunn began his culinary career in Hawaii where he fell in love with Pan-Asian cuisine. As a former Island resident, Geoff worked at one of the most highly-acclaimed restaurants in Waikiki for 6 years. Returning to the mainland, he further advanced his resume at some of the hottest restaurant spots in Malibu, Los Angeles, and Westwood, California. Finally returning to the Northwest where he was born, Geoff graduated at the top of his class from the Western Culinary Institute of Portland, where he was classically trained as a Le Cordon Bleu Chef.

Passionate about building community, his dedication to his craft and volunteer work with up-and-coming chefs has earned him the Partner in Education Award, Outstanding Community Service Recognition, as well as nominations for Volunteer Citizen of the Year Award and the Oregon State Mentor of the Year Award. 

Continuing his pursuit of excellence in the culinary arts, Geoff now has joined the Martin Hospitality team in Cannon Beach working at such fine establishments as Stephanie Inn Dining Room, Wayfarer Restaurant, and the newest addition to the group, The Lumberyard Rotisserie & Grill. 

Fulfilling their dream to live on the Oregon Coast, Geoff and his wife Kristen are currently working together towards their ultimate goal of opening a Bed and Breakfast. 

Geoff says, “Oregon is a culinary playground. Tillamook County always has something different to offer from season to season. There isn’t a product that we can’t grow here. We have a mushroom population envied by the entire world. Our wines have beat out the best France has to offer. We have an unparalleled fish population, award winning dairy, and we’ve got the best beer!”

View Geoff's recipes from 2004-2007 Taste of Tillamook County Cooking Demonstrations!

CHEF PIET VANDEN HOGAN Piet Vanden Hogan is the Executive Chef of the Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City. Raised in De Pere, Wisconsin, Piet studied Culinary Arts at the Art Institute of Colorado. He launched his culinary career in 1997, cooking for Dave Quiery Restaurants in Boulder, Colorado. It was here that Piet (pronounced just like Pete) explored the preparation of Southwestern and Caribbean cuisines. He went on to become Pastry Chef and Lead Line at Ventura Grille-Italian, a privately-owned fine dining restaurant in Denver. In 2002, Piet was promoted to Sous Chef/Pastry Chef at ZoZo's Restaurant in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Over the next three years, Piet taught cooking classes in demonstration kitchens at Tony's Meats & Specialty Foods. He also worked as a personal chef in Denver and surrounding areas, hosting private tasting parties and catering high-end events.

Piet creating Scallop in Shell - Pair of scallops baked in shell with yellow curry mayo, served on rock salt with chilled seaweed salad that was served at the Australia Brewers Dinner.

In 2006, Piet joined the Pelican Pub & Brewery as Sous Chef, and quickly climbed the ranks to Executive Sous Chef, and most recently, to Executive Chef. When he's not in the kitchen, Piet enjoys traveling, rock climbing, skydiving and snowboarding.

Chef Piet Vanden Hogan is replacing Chef Sean Dwigans who had to withdraw from this years competition.

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Chef Chris Holen

CHEF CHRIS HOLEN Chef Chris Holen returns to Tillamook to defend his title win in the Black Box Competition in the 2008 Taste of Tillamook County! Chris was born and raised just outside of Anchorage, Alaska. He attended the Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona 99-2000 with a degree in culinary arts and restaurant management. He started his business by selling soup out of a van at music festivals. In Astoria, he opened the Baked Alaska Soup Co. in a small 7 table restaurant in August 2000. The restaurant was later turned into a culinary internship program (and renamed Bistro L'ecole) a year and a half later. Chris then opened Baked Alaska in its current location in April 2001. Since then, it has expanded with over 200 seats, featuring a quaint lounge, 2 banquet rooms, a large main dining room and deck seating, all entirely over the Columbia River. He also opened the Schooner Twelfth Street Bistro in 2004, which features a hip martini bar, full service dining and a plethora of live music. The schooner also does room service for the Hotel Elliott across the street.

In the summer of 2006 along with his Mother-in-law, Chris opened Mise en Place kitchenware. Mise en Place features everything from professional cutlery, to High-end cookware, kitchen gadgets and everything for the kitchen. It has an espresso bar and a full residential dream kitchen. Chris also teaches cooking classes there a few of times a week, with everything from soup, Thai food, hors d'ouevres and wine to basic knife skills and how to successfully flip eggs.

Chris cooked at the James Beard House (foundation) in October 2006 in New York City assisting Chef John Newman (Previous 3-time Taste of Tillamook Black Box Award Winner!). Currently, Chris maintains the position of Executive Chef/Owner of my two restaurants and the store.

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Chef Josh Anderson Josh Anderson will be returning to the 2008 Taste of Tillamook County! Back in 2006, Chef Anderson won his first ever Black Box Chef's Competition against Chef Jake Burden. Joshua Anderson is a native of Honolulu Hawaii, and has lived and worked on the Oregon Coast for over a decade. He is currently the Chef de Cuisine of the Blackfish Café, in Lincoln City, Oregon. In addition to positions held in his native Hawaii, Mr. Anderson’s previous regional positions include the Chef de Cuisine of the Dining Room, the fine dining restaurant at Salishan Lodge in Gleneden Beach, Oregon, and the Bay House, a fine dining establishment also in Lincoln City.

Chef Josh Anderson

Josh has an excellent relationship with the foods of our area, and is very well trained in classic culinary techniques. His food is exciting and full of youthful energy. Josh uses bold flavors unsparingly, and combined with his emphasis on sound technique, the results are robust, exciting, interesting, yet uncomplicated and comfortable. As Mr. Anderson states: “I prefer not to force combinations of food for the sake of novelty. I try to design dishes that make sense to me gastronomically, and I rely greatly on my personal history and what is available locally and seasonally. I use my training and instincts as my guide. I think I have a deep relationship with products from the Pacific, thanks to my personal and family history. I love applying this to the marvelous fish and shellfish available on the Oregon Coast”.

Josh was recognized by regional judges at the 2006 Seafood and Chowder Festival in Lincoln City by preparing the “Best Signature Seafood Dish”. Josh joined the Blackfish Café back in 2004.

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Chef Lamont Hansen Chef Lamont Hanson is the Sous chef at 3 Doors Down Cafe in Portland, Oregon. Raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Lamont began his culinary career as a summer time dishwasher at an Italian restaurant named Bravo, while attending Milsaps College. Never returning to a formal school Lamont spent the next six years learning the basics of cooking under Chef Dan Blumenthal and his skilled staff.

In 2000, Lamont moved to Portland, Oregon in search of the Northwest bounty of foods. After working in about a dozen restaurants specializing in different cuisines Lamont settled down at 3 Doors Down Cafe in 2003. Here he has spent the last four years honing his culinary skills under the leadership of Chef and Owner David Marth and Owner Kathy Bergin. It is at this small neighborhood restaurant where Lamont's passions for food are fulfilled cooking fresh food for good people and good customers.

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Chef Gary Puetz Chef Gary Puetz describes himself simply as a “fish consultant”. Gary Puetz, "The Seafood Steward", is an internationally acknowledged seafood expert, chef, educator and promoter of all things that swim.  American audiences have seen Gary on The Other Half with Dick Clark, CBS’s The Early Show, Good Day Atlanta, Good Day Tampa Bay, Good Morning Arizona, Great Day America, Crook & Chase, Mike & Matty, Simple Solutions, and The Robin Leach Show and Food News and Views on the TV Food Network. In addition to guest spots on TV news shows around the country, he hosts a weekly-featured seafood report on CBS affiliate station KOIN in Portland, Oregon and reviewed restaurants for Around Town, a TV magazine in Portland.

Chef Gary Puetz

Gary put his culinary talents to work as a professional chef, affiliating with several respected Northwest restaurants. He has been recognized regionally, nationally and internationally for his culinary expertise and vast seafood knowledge. “There is significant need for seafood education, and that’s my job,” he explains. As a seafood representative of the United States, he conducts cooking demonstrations and seminars throughout Europe and Asia for the American Trade Organization, Oregon Department of Agriculture and WUSATA.

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Chef Zeb Johnson

Chef Zeb Johnson Chef Zeb Johnson is the Food Service Manager of the Farmhouse Café at the Tillamook Cheese Visitor Center, and is also a "Certified Executive Chef" or CEC. Chef Zeb Johnson began his career in Eastern Oregon while in high school working to save money for culinary school, where at Western Culinary Institute Zeb got his degree in 1999. He also did an internship at University Club of Portland and reserved a job with them as their pastry chef. Among his culinary jobs, Zeb worked at the Minam lodge in the Eagle Cap Wilderness where he managed the operation at the lodge itself for about 4 years. Zeb has always wanted to cook in an exotic environment, and moved to Florida working for the Boy Scouts Of America at the Florida sea base and Brinton Environmental Center as their chef and galley manager In the Key’s.

Zeb has also worked as Executive Chef for Aramark food service At Eastern Oregon University running residential food programs and setting up university food programs all over the US.

Volunteering is very important to Zeb. He's worked with AIDS Help in Key West Florida, helping raise money for people in need of medication. He's also worked with Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce and Rotary raising money for local schools and families that are in need, through kids carnivals, Fourth of July celebrations, golf tournaments and under water music festivals.

You may have read about Chef Johnson in the Oregonian's (newspaper) October 2001 two page article by Richard Cockle; in Sunset magazine Aug 2002; in Northwest living “Minam lodge” story; and in a Oregon Public Broadcasting story about cooking in the outdoors of summer 2002.

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		Economic Development Council of Tillamook County 1906-A Third Street Tillamook, Oregon 97141 503-842-2236    www.edctc.com