Jason Belkov
Executive Chef, Longwood Gardens
Jason Belkov grew up in Flemington, New Jersey where his mother maintained a backyard garden and cooked for the family as often as she could. He spent many of his younger years learning the skills of his mother's home cooking. Then during his teenage years, Chef Belkov worked a part time job in the town's most popular Italian restaurant, working all aspects of the kitchen from dishwasher to line cook.
Although Jason's love for cooking has always been strong in his heart, he attended college training to become a pilot for three years while maintaining a job as head chef of an Italian restaurant. After obtaining his associates degree in flight school he decided his love for cooking outweighed his love for flying and enrolled himself in the Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts program in Providence, Rhode Island. Graduating in 1995, Chef Belkov worked for a premier Newport, Rhode Island caterer, learning the skills to cater on an elite level.
One year after graduation, Jason felt the need to move back to his hometown to be closer to his friends and family and obtained a job as a line cook at the Hyatt Regency in Princeton. Jason credits the Executive Chef, Robert Fratticcioli, as his strongest influence in the culinary field. He worked in all kitchen outlets including catering, pastry, saucier, garde manger and in the fine dining restaurant. He learned about food pairings and flavor combinations that are used in his food today.
Chef Belkov moved on from the Hyatt to work for Jericho National Golf Club as the Banquet Chef in New Hope, Pennsylvania. He took the knowledge he learned from Chef Fratticcioli and built upon that foundation providing innovative culinary creations at the Country Club. He quickly was promoted to the club's Executive Chef overseeing two restaurants and a thriving catering business.
In March 2007 Jason joined Restaurant Associates at Winterthur Museum and Country Estate. Jason earned a reputation as a savvy food professional with his creativity and delicious food and flavor combinations. Jason personally oversaw the planning and execution of well over 200 wedding menus, worked with a number of local community organizations and corporations designing food and beverage programs for their events, prepared dinners for the Winterthur Board of Trustees as well as some personal events hosted by the du Pont family.
Jason designed and created a fresh, new series of menus for the Cafe at Winterthur. He has a special talent for making vegetarian and vegan items taste delicious and appeal to a broad audience. He utilizes freshest ingredients and has discovered a number of local, regional famers to provide such items as specialty produce, organic fruits and vegetables, cheeses, ice cream, and more.
Jason is a true food artist. His portfolio includes the creation of ice sculptures, pumpkin carvings and other culinary art forms. In December of 2007 he was featured on the Comcast Channel 8 Morning show demonstrating a recipe from the Winterthur cookbook.
Chef Belkov joined Longwood Gardens in July 2010 directly from the Winterthur Museum bringing with him his unique culinary flavor combinations and his love for fresh local ingredients. He is an esteemed member of the culinary team representing Restaurant Associates.
Thomas McMullen
1906 Chef, Longwood Gardens
Born in Pittsburgh and raised in the suburbs of Cleveland and Philadelphia, Chef McMullen credits his interest in food to his grandmother, Irene, and his mother, Lois. His grandmother's background of Slovakian cooking and his mother's home-style comfort food built a foundation of how Chef McMullen's cuisine was established.
Thomas attended The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia after high school, during which he apprenticed with Chef Walter Staib at the historic City Tavern.
After graduating from culinary school, Thomas built his experience and techniques working at several of the Philadelphia area's best restaurants and corporations which included, The Blue Bell Inn, The Valley Forge Sheraton - Convention Center, The Desmond Hotel and Harry's Savoy Grill. Thomas took his first Executive Chef position at The Brandywine Brewing Company in Greenville, DE, then moved on to open Sails Restaurant on the Somers Point Marina down the Jersey Shore, and then onto Harrah's Casino in Atlantic City where he was integral in the development of The Waterfront Buffet, a gourmet action station - Vegas style buffet.
Thomas has also attended the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, has been a member of The American Culinary Federation since 1995 and has been awarded numerous Chef Certifications. He has also worked in St. Croix USVI, and studied abroad in France, Spain and Portugal.
In April 2008, Chef McMullen joined Restaurant Associates starting as Executive Chef of the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Chef McMullen led and executed all off premise catering functions, while overseeing all culinary operations at The Art Alliance Philadelphia, The Academy of Music and Cadence Restaurant. When Restaurant Associates was hired to oversee the food at Longwood Gardens in 2009, Chef McMullen was brought on to head up the culinary operations at the 1906 restaurant. Chef McMullen states that the main focus at 1906 is the use of the best local, sustainable ingredients, while presenting whimsical global cuisine. |
