Chef Aaron was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado and moved to Portland, Oregon when he was eight years old, which is where his love for food really began. In high school, Aaron was accidentally enrolled in a cooking class. “Too lazy to switch to another elective, I quickly became hooked when I learned that I could make my OWN pizza,” Aaron laughs. Then in the 10th grade, his love affair deepened when he was bussing tables and saw how happy families became after a nice meal.
Aaron went on to study at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Portland, formerly the Western Culinary Institute. Having specialized in seasonal and local cuisine the most during his career, Chef Aaron has professionally cooked Mediterranean, Northwest American, and Spanish cuisines. He also has lived in Asia, Uganda, France, and the Middle East, so he has an ability to recreate nearly any cuisine.
From 2005 to 2008, Chef Aaron worked in the nicest places in the city at the time, moving up the ranks from intern to grill cook. Philippe Boulot, a French master chef, worked above him at The Heathman Hotel. “You can see him and Anthony Bourdain cooking the food I prepped in the Pacific NW episode of No Reservations,” he shares.
Between The Heathman and Bluehour, Chef Aaron cooked food for The Rolling Stones (afternoon oysters), Lyle Lovett (breakfast—he loves bacon), Jennifer Aniston (NY steak, lean and medium-well), Ozzy (well-done NY steak with baked potato) and what was left of Black Sabbath alongside Rob Zombie (swordfish), and Tim Robins (happy hour snacks).
By age 28, Aaron was the executive chef in a Michelin group in San Francisco. Later, in Montreal, Aaron was co-founder of a zero-waste B2B catering brand. “Using design thinking, I developed foods that were meant for the clients and the event,” he explains. “This care meant that clients were eating better than they were used to at conferences and business meetings.”
In his spare time, Aaron goes on 10k jogs, reads, and writes, and of course, cooks. You can also find him enjoying Hopstix and all the Korean fusion across Atlanta, or any place that makes a good burger.