2018 Epicurea Chefs

Executive Chef Kevin Furmanek joins us from The Cliffs at Mountain Park, South Carolina.  Chef Furmanek's  extensive culinary career began by studying with a classically trained French Chef in New Jersey, sparking a life long passion for food.  A graduate of the Culinary Arts Program at Johnson and Wales University, he has worked at locations such as the popular Kirkbrae Country Club in Rhode Island.  Chef Kevin's career highlights include:

• Working with James Beard award-winning Chef Neatth Pal at Neatth’s New American Bistro. 
• Winning numerous “Best In RI” accolades. 
• Winning Golf Digest's "Golden Fork Award"
• Winning first place in the Upstate SC - Western NC Regional Competing Dining Series

Chef Furmanek tends his own organic garden, cares for his own bees and enjoys freshwater fishing and picking wild mushrooms.

 Executive Chef Alex Lee learned about fresh ingredients and balancing flavors from his Cantonese grandmother.  He then learned about classical French cooking from celebrated chef Daniel Boulud.  Highlights of the     Long Island native’s background includes:

• Executive Chef at Alpine Country Club in New Jersey.
• Formerly executive chef at the Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, NY for 10 years
• Studied under Chef Boulud at Le Cirque and joined the opening team for Boulud's Restaurant Daniel in 1992
• Executive Chef at Daniel when the restaurant earned a four-star review from The New York Times
• Twice nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award as Best Chef: New York City 

Chef Lee enjoys growing his own garden and enjoys creating new twists on classic delicious meals favored by his members.

Executive Chef Anthony Rabeni joins us from the Vineyard Golf Club on Martha’s Vineyard in Edgartown, Massachusetts, where he began working as Sous Chef and has built a loyal and prestigious career over the past 16 years.  Known as the most organic and environmentally-sensitive golf clubs in the world, Chef Rabeni and his team's dining room enjoys a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest restaurants on Martha’s Vineyard, using only the freshest local ingredients.  Executive Chef Rabeni always grew up wanting to be a chef.  At an early age he began to study the culinary arts and his career highlights include: 

• Earning his first degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management at the University of Delaware
• Earning his second from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. 
• Continuous engagement in new culinary classes from CIA’s Hyde Park and Greystone campuses. 
• Applying his talents to the teams at the Eastward Ho Country Club in Harwich, MA, and also at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, VA

Chef Rabeni and his family enjoy year-round island living on Martha’s Vineyard.  He enjoys fishing the waters of the Vineyard and taking pleasure in the game of golf.

Executive Chef Carolyn Flinn joins us from Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, New Jersey,  Her exceptional culinary career has been perfected in some of the top kitchens in the world beginning in the Hotel Greenbrier in W. Virginia and then, under the tutelage of Chef Christian Albin and Seppi Rengilli, completing the Four Season’s formal apprenticeship program.  From here Carolyn went international to the five-star Hotel Scwheizerhof in Bern, Switzerland and then on to study epicurean culture in Italy, France and Austria.  Upon her return to the US and her Cherry HIll, NJ roots, her career highlights include:

• Teaching at The Restaurant School in Philadelphia
• A 10 year tenure at Restaurant Associates
• Managing the private dining room of the Time Life Building (NY)
• Managing all food aspects of The Hemisphere Club and the world-class Sea Grill at Rockefeller Plaza
• Designing and creating Authur's Landing Restaurant in NJ
• Opening the state-of-the-art Trustees Dining Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Serving as Executive Chef of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC
• Serving as Executive Chef at Deal Golf & Country Club

Chef Carolyn's talents have long been recognized by country club members in The Met Section.  She was a featured chef in the Taste of the Met section of the Met Golfer Magazine in the June/July 2015 issue.

Executive Chef Tony Pope, originally from Huntington, West Virginia, laid down his culinary roots in Charleston, South Carolina after graduating from Johnson and Wales University. Chef Pope trained under world renowned chefs including Michele Richard and Susan Spicer before returning to the Lowcountry, where he currently resides.  His career highlights include:

• Chef de cuisine Hanks Seafood, Best New Restaurant in Esquire Magazine
• Executive Sous Chef of The Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia
• Chef de Cuisine at Bayonna Restaurant in New Orleans
• Executive Chef at the Buckhead Diner in Atlanta, Georgia
• Executive Chef at Chechessee Creek Club 

In his spare time, Chef Pope enjoys traveling the world and furthering his culinary knowledge by immersing himself in different cultures.

Marchesi Antinori Wines is our partners for Epicurea and provides delicious vintages paired which each celebrity-chef dining experience during our program.  

Marchesi Antinori’s passion for viticulture is expressed through perseverance; their continuous pursuit for quality improvement, even in the smallest details.  Research and development is an ongoing process  both in the vineyards and in the cellars.  

The family’s historical heritage lies in their estates in Tuscany and  Umbria, however over the years they have invested in many other areas, both in Italy and abroad, well known for producing high quality wine.

The Antinori family has been committed to the art of winemaking for over six centuries since 1385 when Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a  member, of the “Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri”, the Florentine  Winemakers’ Guild. All throughout its history, twenty-six generations  long, the Antinori family has managed the business directly making  innovative and sometimes bold decisions while upholding the utmost respect for traditions and the environment. 

Chef Christophe Muller, protégé extraordinaire of “Chef of the Century” Paul Bocuse, has been at the forefront of French cuisine for more than 20 years. 

Before joining Bocuse at L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges in Lyon, he trained under Yan Jacquot at Michelin-starred Taillevent and Le Toit de Passy in Paris. 

Chef Muller was presented with Meilleur Ouvrier de France by the president of the Republic in 2000.

 Chef Philippe Lusseau emerged as the most promising pastry chef in France in 1989 and has continued to bring his focus and passion of healthy diets, organic cooking, baking, ice cream and chocolate making to the industry.

• Studied with top French chefs Alain Ducasse and Paul Bocuse
• Manager of culinary research in the European Region for Cuisinart.

Chef Vincent Russo joins us from the Roaring Fork Club in Colorado. He possesses extensive experience in hotels, resorts, country clubs and  free-standing restaurants. He is well versed in classical, fusion, eclectic  and exotic cuisine. His amazing background includes early education in the heart of New York making pizza during his formative years and then graduating from the New York Culinary School. He continued his master of gastronomy journey at:

• The Ritz-Carlton Hotel St. Thomas as Executive Chef
• The Ritz-Carlton Hotel New Orleans as Executive Chef
• Omni Severin in Indianapolis as Executive Chef

Chef Derrick Roberts joins us from Westchester Country Club in the Metropolitan Golf section. He is a graduate of The French Culinary Institute in New York City, Thailand’s Baan Thai Cookery School and Somphon Cooking School. Chef Robert’s professional journey began as a line cook at Tribeca Grill in New York City, and from there he honed his skills in kitchens across the globe in countries such as Sweden, Turks and Caicos, Denmark, St. Thomas in the USVI, Hawaii and most recently in the US in:

• Florida ~ Chef de Cuisine of StripSteak restaurant in Miami
•  New York ~ Chef de Cuisine of Marriott Marquis Times Square