Culinary Team

Paul Oesterle Richard Dwyer Bryan Haymans

Executive Chef Paul Oesterle
Retail Operations and Campus Catering
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I have always enjoyed cooking and began working in the industry when I was in high school. To further pursue my culinary interests, I attended college in Providence, Rhode Island at Johnnson & Wales University. While attending college I worked as a teaching assistant and I opened my own small restaurant. I also gained work experience in Philadelphia at a restaurant called Opus 251. During my senior year of college I travel to Versailles, France where I worked in a restaurant called Les Trois Marches for three months. I graduated from Johnson & Wales University with two bachelor's degrees, one in culinary arts and one in foodservice management. I moved to Athens in August of 2001 to work as an assistant manager at Bolton Dining Hall. On March 1st, 2002 I was promoted to chef of Bolton Dining Commons. Since then I served as chef at Joe Frank Harris Commons, and I am currently the executive chef of retail operations and campus catering.

Chef Richard Dwyer
Retail Operations and Campus Catering
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I was first introduced to the culinary world at the age of 16 when I took a job as a cold prep worker at the Colonie Hill Catering House in Long Island New York. The pace was hectic, the hours were crazy, and I was hooked! After high school, I attended New York Tech where I studied culinary arts and participated in a summer internship program at the Ecole Hoteliere in Lausanne Switzerland. After graduating with a degree in Culinary Arts, I worked as a Sous Chef at an Italian restaurant in New York where I learned to cook high quality food at an extremely fast pace. My soon to bewife and I relocated to the Adirondacks where I worked as a Sous Chef under a trained Swiss Chef at Rene's Mountain View Restaurant. After five years at the restaurant, my wife Joanne and I decided to take the plunge and open our own place called The Owl at Twilight, a Latin and Spanish flavored fine dining restaurant. After 12 successful years with the restaurant, we began looking for a new place to call home. We visited Athens and instantly knew this was the place for us. I love working at the university where I can help young people get excited about cooking and help them learn about careers in foodservice.

Chef Bryan Haymans
Bolton Dining Commons
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I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Georgia in 1996 where I majored in Consumer Foods. Upon graduating I headed out west to Vail, Colorado where I attended Johnson and Wales University. Here I was one of only forty people to be accepted to their accelerated program to study Culinary Arts. I graduated culinary school in 1997 with Summa Cum Laude status. While I was in Colorado I worked for Marriott's Vail Mountain Resort as a Line Cook where I learned the basics of becoming a chef. Upon leaving Colorado I moved back to the south where I became the Executive Chef for Harris Teeter. During my two year span as Executive Chef I learned the finer points of organization, time management, managing other employees, and fine tuning my skills as a chef.

After several years of long hours I decided to take a break from the kitchen and from being a chef. Therefore, I came back to the University of Georgia to work as an Assistant Manager for Oglethorpe Dining Commons. Before long my natural calling of being a Chef and having my hands directly involved with food production brought me back into the kitchen. I served as the opening chef for East Village Summit at Joe Frank Harris Commons. I presently serve at Bolton Dining Commons, and I'm loving every minute of it.

Chef/Manager Darnell Tate
Oglethorpe Dining Commons
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Food services had been my dream occupation since I was a teenager. But before that dream became reality I took a slight detour, starting with a football scholarship at the University of Maryland. Many years later, I enrolled in the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts. I attended school by day and worked at the William Penn Hotel by night. On weekends I leased a kitchen in a local pub, working as a one-person staff.

Once my coursework was complete, I moved to Peachtree City, Georgia where I accepted a position as cook at the conference center, becoming part of a great staff and gaining experience designing weekly menus and serving guests from all over the world. Quickly promoted to p.m. Sous Chef, my experiences expanded to include catered weddings, private parties, upscale fine dining, a daily grand buffet, and the Governor of Georgia's Dogwood Ball.

After five years at Aberdeen Woods and one year as unit manager at Waffle House, I found a new home at the University of Georgia. As the Chef at Oglethorpe Dining Commons, I adapted my food preparation skills and talents to the award-wining university's style of service. In addition, I was recently awarded the bronze medal in the NACUFS Chef's Culinary Challenge. In 2008, I was promoted as Chef/Manager at Oglethorpe Dining Commons.

Chef Tim Neal
Oglethorpe Dining Commons
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I guess you could say I started my culinary career at the age of 10. I first learned about cooking as a Boy Scout. I learned to cook in every kind of weather and with every kind of fire. I took a side trip in my culinary career when I went off to college at Central Michigan University; I decided to major in my other passion: Science. After graduating in 1992 with a BS in Biology and spending about 4 years in the field, I moved to Atlanta. I spent about 2 years in the Atlanta area before I decided to pursue my passion for cooking. I attended the Atlanta Arts Institute and enrolled in their culinary program. While going to school, I worked at a small restaurant called the 1848 House in Marietta, as a prep cook. After I graduated from the Art Institute, I continued working at the 1848 House for 5 years, moving up through the ranks to Pastry Chef. I left the restaurant for Aramark, and over the next 5 years I worked through the ranks as cook, caterer, chef and finally as chef/manager of a senior citizens center. When my son was born I took a few years off so I could be a stay at home dad. After 3 years, I moved to Hartwell, GA and began working for Lee Epting Catering as an on-site kitchen director. After two years, I came to work for the University of Georgia as an Assistant Manager at Oglethorpe Dining Commons. As of August, 2008 I have been promoted as Chef at Oglethorpe Dining Commons.

Chef / Assistant Director Bryan Varin
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My career in the food service industry began nearly twenty years ago flipping pizzas while in college working on my bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Intercultural Studies. During that time I worked at a handful of different restaurants and decided that a career in restaurants and the culinary arts was my calling. Upon graduation I decided to follow my passion for food and enrolled at New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont. After culinary school I spent the next couple of years working in fine dining restaurants and crossing the country gaining as much experience and learning from as many different chefs as I could. However, in the fall of 2000 my career reached a turning point. While looking for a different career path within the food service industry I accepted a position as a chef with the University of Washington in Seattle. It was there that I decided to commit myself to a career in college and university food service programs. After two years in Seattle, I decided to move closer to home and family and found myself in Athens and at the University of Georgia. Since arriving at UGA nearly ten years ago I have held numerous positions within our department, starting as the department’s Training Specialist and then chef for Campus Catering. After catering I transferred to Snelling Dining Commons and have held both the position of chef and unit manager there over the course of the last six years. Recently, I was given the opportunity to further my career once again and accepted the position of Assistant Director for Meal Plan Operations. I am looking forward to continuing to serve the University of Georgia in my new role and being in Athens for many years to come.

Chef Shelly Orozco-Marrs
Village Summit
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My mother and grandmothers, all of whom were excellent cooks, taught me their craft, and I learned to love it. After graduating high school, I applied and was admitted to Kettering University in Michigan with a focus on Environmental Chemistry. Though I loved my time there, I soon felt that chemistry was not the right fit for me. After two-and-a-half years at Kettering I decided to leave college and pursue a career as a chef.

I chose to attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Academy of Culinary Arts in Punxsutawney. After breezing through the program I began my career at Florida’s prestigious and legendary Boca Raton Resort and Club. During my time there I had access to many talented, skilled, and knowledgeable chefs. My experiences ranged from fast paced resort casual dining to upscale fine dining to high volume, high profile banquets and catering. I also had the opportunity to cook for a few of my favorite celebrities including Adam Sandler, Jose Carreras of the Three Tenors, the late Tony Snow, and my personal favorite, Alice Cooper.

After five years in Florida, my former Executive Chef, the talented James Reaux and one of my restaurant chefs, Bryan Fyler asked me to help establish the Food and Beverage Operations at The Ridges Resort and Club in the northern Georgia / western North Carolina area. During my three years in the Georgia mountains I held the positions of Banquet Chef, Chef de Cuisine, and Executive Chef.

My dedication to quality and working with the best is what brought me to the University of Georgia. I wanted know what it was like to serve 4000-plus customers a day in a modern university food service operation. In July of 2009, I began my new job as the Chef of the Village Summit.

Chef Don Law
Snelling
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As the grandson of a baker, my culinary journey started very early in life. The youngest of three sons, I was the cook’s (our mom) helper and remember baking Toll House cookies from the tender age of six.

My professional culinary career began after I received my A.O.S. (Associate in Occupational Studies) from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Upon graduating from the CIA, I began working as a cook with the French hotel chain, Le Meredien, and it was there that I was exposed to the dedication and passion for food from some of the world’s top French Chefs including Paul Bocuse who set my standard for excellence. After working for Le Meredien in Houston and Boston, I accepted a position as! Sous Chef for The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee under noted Chef Jose Guittirez. I have worked as the Co- Chef at Charlie’s L’etoile Verte , the Executive Chef of The South Carolina Yacht Club on Hilton Head Island, and managed a number of kitchens in locations ranging from Maine to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Some highlights of my career include cooking for Julia Childs, Vincent Price, George Carlin, Prince, Jerry Lee Lewis, ZZ top, and many more.

In the 1990s, I returned to Georgia (my childhood home) and helped open The Georgia
Club where I also served as the Executive Chef for 7 years. I then came to UGA Food Services and began working at the Village Summit in 2010 and was promoted to Chef of Snelling Dining Commons in March of 2012.

Athens and The University of Georgia have always been dear to me and my family. Both my father and father-in-law taught at UGA’s Terry College of Business. Additionally, my mother, brother,
and sister graduated from UGA as did my wife and many members of her family. I am so honored to work for UGA Food Services and provide outstanding food for all the students as guests who dine with us each day. My wife, son and I reside in Watkinsville, GA and, when I am out of the kitchen, I like to garden, fish, camp and ride bicycles.