Meet the Team
Our Staff is Well-Seasoned
Our Chef Instructors have both teaching and real-world experience. We are delighted to have such a talented group of experienced professionals all under one roof in Salt Lake City.
Robert Angelilli
Chef Instructor
Chef Robert’s culinary career started at the young age of zero, having been born and raised in the Veneto region of Italy. With daily trips to the Rialto market by his grandmother’s and Mom’s side he began to cultivate the love of simple, fresh and authentic food and fuel his ability to drink copious amount of espresso.
At the age of 19, Chef Robert came to Utah to ski the mountains of the Wasatch Front and eventually settled at the University where he earned B.S and B.A. degrees. After an eclectic career path that included Ballet, teaching third grade, selling wild mushrooms, managing Databases and administering networks he decided that cooking for a profession seemed like an interesting venture.
Twenty-five years later it seems that choice had stuck; Chef Robert has worked as an Executive Chef and Executive Pastry Chef in the Salt Lake City and Park City area, has opened five restaurants and has run the kitchens of myriad of restaurants around the area.
As a working Chef he still holds to the culinary beliefs learned in his childhood of using the freshest, highest quality products and in developing fundamentals of technique to ensure that the product’s taste, aroma and uniqueness is clearly displayed.
Chef Robert lives with his Pastry Chef wife Amber, his dogs Bean and Clover and crazy cat Steve. He still likes espresso.
Amber Billingsley
Chef Instructor
Chef Amber is a Salt Lake City native with over 30 years experience in the culinary industry. Having focused on the pastry arts, she has worked as an award winning Pastry Chef in several bakeries, resorts, and restaurants including Current Fish & Oyster, Stanza Italian Bistro, and most recently as Pastry Chef Instructor at Flourish Bakery. Amber has a deep love of food and the way it connects people. Knowing that just the right pastry or dessert provides joy and comfort is the motivation for her work. Chef Amber is excited to share her knowledge and passion as a Chef Instructor for Park City Culinary Institute.
Drew Kinney
Chef Instructor
At the age of 19, Chef Drew made the whimsical decision to attend culinary school at the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin. After getting a feel for the industry at the local Macaroni Grill, he landed a job at the five star Driskill Hotel under the direction of Chef David Bull, formerly of the Mansion at Turtle Creek. His time at the Driskill was spent working in both the upscale casual 1886 Cafe, and the fine dining Driskill Grill, as well as lending whatever free hands he had available to the banquet kitchen. After several years at the hotel, he relocated back to his home state of Iowa, where he pursued an interest in farm to table dining, before ultimately reconnecting with a colleague from the Driskill and moving to Portland, Maine to open a business of their own selling specialty soups to a town with no soup shop. After 13 great years in Maine, it was a time for a change. Following in Chef Roberts footsteps he relocated to Salt Lake City for close access to the Wasatch Mountains and their bounty of outdoor activities.
Zach Wojdula
Chef Instructor
Chef Zach Wojdula joined the faculty in March 2022. He has been working as a Chef and Baker locally in Salt Lake City for the past ten years after moving from Connecticut. Though he originally moved to pursue a degree in Kinesiology and Nutrition at the University of Utah, after working in food for his entire adult life, he decided to make a career of it. He has worked in everything from fast food to fine dining at several of Salt Lake’s best restaurants. He also has experience as an artisan baker.
Laurie Moldawer
Director
Trained in Paris at le Cordon Bleu, and in New York at the Institute of Culinary Education. She worked for one of the highest-rated catering companies in the country, Real Food Catering in New York, and has staged at restaurants in New York and Paris. At the Michelin-starred Passiflore Restaurant in France, she apprenticed with Chef Roland Durand. Food has always been her love, and she has traveled to over 50 countries around the world to see their markets, taste new ingredients, and take cooking classes.
Jess Everson
Online Courses
Was most recently the Executive Chef at Café Trio, overseeing two locations. After culinary school, he worked in Las Vegas before returning to Utah to be the Chef de Cuisine at Cliff House Gastropub in Draper, and at Westgate Resorts in Park City. Chef Jess trained in Las Vegas at le Cordon Bleu, and recently appeared on CBS-KUTV Channel 2.
Sterling West
Online Courses
Was a Certified Instructor for the US Army, where he planned, designed, and delivered training to over 500 senior Army leaders in Battle Staff operations. He delivered both technical and tactical instruction on missions, providing students with an in-depth understanding of mission command, operations, cyber defense, and information operations. Sterling completed two overseas deployments, and retired in 2019 with the rank of Sergeant First Class. In 2019, Sterling graduated from Park City Culinary Institute using his GI Bill® benefits.
Lola Beatlebrox
Curriculum Developer
Lola Beatlebrox remembers when opening a TV dinner was the height of 1960s cuisine. How times have changed. “We’ve come full circle to honor our talents in making dishes the best restaurant chefs from all over the world make right in our own homes.” Lola is an instructional designer and educator. She has created videos and learning materials for the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Utah Division of Arts & Museums, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and EATS – Eat Awesome Things at School. She promotes interactive, inquisitive learning about food and its ability to tantalize all the five senses.
Jordan Miller
Award-winning Chef from Baltimore and Delaware
Maxine Turner
Founder of Cuisine Unlimited Catering Company
Yu Yamamoto
Montage Deer Valley, Naked Fish
John Davis
Wine Insiders & Geja’s Cafe, Chicago
