Celebrity Guest Chefs

Nadine Brown

Sommelier & Author

At Your Service | Washington D.C.

  • Sommelier Nadine Brown was born and raised in Jamaica and Puerto Rico and began her hospitality career at the host stand. 

    Today, Nadine is a twenty-five-year veteran of the Washington, DC area restaurant industry. She spent over 14 years at Charlie Palmer Steak as their Wine Director and Sommelier. She has also been a managing partner, general manager, and hospitality consultant. She is a two-time winner of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s (RAMW) Wine Program of the Year.

    Nadine is a board member of the RAMW as well as the nonprofit the Verasion Project. She is a wine judge participating in competitions including the Monticello Cup and TexSom IWA. Nadine is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier D.C chapter and the Regarding Her organization. Nadine is a published author writing articles about wine and the wine industry for various publications. 

    Her company, At Your Service, offers a range of services from hosting wine events, cellar management and wine promotions, staff training and hospitality consulting. Nadine is a mentor to many young professionals in the business and strives to encourage more women to join and stay in the industry. She is a mother of two, Estelle and Emerson.

Shorne Benjamin

Executive Chef & Founder

Fat Fowl | Brooklyn, NY

  • Shorne Benjamin, Executive Chef/Founder of Fat Fowl discovered a love for cooking in his grandmother’s kitchen growing up in St. Lucia. His cuisine reflects Caribbean food infused with global flavors and classic culinary techniques for a “new age” twist. Chef Shorne pursued his professional interests in Finance and Culinary Arts at universities in the U.S. In 2004, he earned his BA in Finance and transitioned to working on Wall Street until 2009, soon after the financial crisis in 2008.

    He continued to develop culinary skills while studying at the French Culinary Institute in New York, and later earned his title as chef training in fine dining establishments in the city. Chef Shorne’s achievements have been recognized internationally and nationally, such as winning the Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival Celebrity Chef Throw Down in 2017 and becoming a semi-finalist at the International Iron Chef Competition in Toronto.

    Chef Shorne’s legacy continued on screen, featuring on a number of guest cooking appearances, such as competing against Bobby Flay on the Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” and as a finalist on “Chopped”.

Digby Stridiron

Chef & Partner

Latha | Phoenix, AZ

  • Chef Digby Stridiron. A native of St. Croix, Chef Digby is inspired by ingredients indigenous to the Caribbean and the history of regional recipes. He is best known for his work as chef of award-winning restaurants Balter and Braata in St. Croix, where he earned recognition as one of USA Today’s 10 Best restaurants in the Caribbean and Food & Wine named his food “the new heart of Caribbean cooking”.

    A community leader, Stridiron served as a culinary ambassador for the U.S. Virgin Islands, having showcased West Indian cuisine at the James Beard House, and also received the 2014 Chef of the Year award from the Caribbean Tourism Association. Currently, he is chef/partner at Latha Restaurant & Bar in Phoenix, AZ. Chef Digby is also the founder of the West Indian Chefs Alliance.

Angel Baretto

Executive Chef

Anju | Washington D.C.

  • For Angel Barreto, food has always been associated with happy memories, and it is why he first pursued a career in the culinary arts – he wanted to impact people and the most important moments of their lives with food.

    He attended L’Academie De Cuisine in Maryland and concentrated on French fare. Upon graduating, he worked at Vermilion, an iconic and modern American restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, VA. This opportunity gave him ample firsthand experience cooking sustainably using local, farm-raised products.

    Barreto always displayed an immense passion for Asian cuisine because these flavors were part of his childhood upbringing. Both his parents lived in Korea and his mother cooked Korean dishes from her time abroad. It is not surprising that he joined the team at Wolfgang Puck’s modern Asian restaurant The Source where he quickly worked his way up from cook to executive sous chef. 

    He joined Anju which opened its doors in 2019. In 2020, Washingtonian Magazine named Anju the #1 Best Restaurant in the nation’s capital; he was a James Beard Award semifinalist for the category of Rising Star Chef; and he was bestowed the 2020 Rising Culinary Star of the Year of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

    In 2022, Food & Wine Magazine named Angel one of the nation’s Best New Chefs for his work at Anju. StarChefs named Angel DC Rising Star Game Changer Chef. Angel has been nominated for 2 James Beard Foundations Awards currently. First is a national acknowledgment for Emerging Chef and the second Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.

Kareem Roberts

Chef

Cambridge, UK

  • Kareem Roberts was always drawn to the kitchen from as early as he can remember. Growing up the son of a fisherman, he was exposed to the best ingredients the seas could offer from a young age. Those early life experiences would lend themselves to his journey at various periods, particularly in his mid-20s when he decided to begin his journey as a professional cook. 

He began cooking salads at a cafe in Redcliffe Quay in Antigua and quickly moved on to begin working at Sandals Grande Antigua, where he would expose himself to cuisines and mentors that still have an impact on his trajectory. After a few years he left Sandals to gain further international experience in the United Kingdom. 



    Over the next decade of his life he would navigate a variety of kitchens ranging from fine dining establishments, to hotels and gastropubs. Along the way he built a modest social media presence as he devotedly honed his skills cooking and experimenting at home. His dedication to his craft would earn him travel and entertainment opportunities which he appreciates but rarely advertises. His primary concern is always to improve as a cook and if possible improve the people around him as much as he can. He has done so to his best ability, most recently leading the restaurant Trinity in Cambridge to holding a reputation for excellent cooking. 

Althea Brown

Author & Blogger

Caribbean Paleo Cookbook | Aurora, CO

  • Althea Brown is the creator and voice behind metemgee.com, a blog about Guyanese (Caribbean) recipes and traditions. She offers simplified recipes, made accessible with diet-specific tweaks. She is the author of the bestselling cookbook Caribbean Paleo. You can often find her on social media sharing stories about traditional Guyanese food and culture, and how she remixes dishes to fit her dietary needs.

    After struggling with acid reflux for years, Althea started exploring the possibility that the way she ate was making her sick. Althea noticed that gluten was the main cause of her acid reflux and that gluten, dairy, and refined sugar triggered the frequent migraines she had suffered from since adolescence. She started recreating her favorite Guyanese and Caribbean recipes to be gluten-, dairy- and refined sugar–free. Later she took the leap and started eliminating grains from her diet and noticed significant changes in her overall health. She hopes that she will continue to inspire everyone to try Caribbean food, even if it’s through a slightly different lens.

    Born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana, Althea now lives in Aurora, Colorado, with her husband and three children.