Chefs

Tre Palline Gelato Napolitano Marco has been in the gelato industry for more than 35 years. “He started as a teenager,” Ashley says of her husband. “It was his very first job.” Marco is from Italy, where he spent years perfecting his gelato-making skills. He’s lived in Spokane for about four years. Marco has been involved in helping start several gelato shops in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. He spent several years in Germany, where he met Katie Stillert. Last year, he helped Stillert launch Gelato by the Lake, in Coeur d’Alene. Tre Palline–which means three scoops– occupies about 700 square feet of space at 153 S. Lincoln. Tre Palline offers 30 flavors, such as pistachio, amarena cherry, mint chip, dark chocolate, and banana, as well as traditional stracciatella, a creamy gelato with chocolate chips. Many seasonal flavors also will be available on a rotating weekly basis, and Ashley says dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, and gluten-free options will also be available. Tre Palline also will offer sundaes, including spaghetti gelato. Marco claims to hold the Guinness World Record for the heaviest spaghetti gelato, which weighed in at 240 kilos, or about 530 pounds.

Good Foods

Little Noodle Hi there, let’s tell you a little bit about Little Noodle and itty-bitty Buddha. We are an Asian inspired restaurant that loves to take local ingredients and give them an Asain spin. We love to travel through all the Asian dishes and really be inspired by what they have to offer. We have classic dishes that we then find ways to incorporate local and prime flavors and give it our own LN touch. As the Chef I made it my mission to work for some of the top chefs in Spokane such as Travis Dickinson, Adam Hegstead and Long Nguyen who have molded me into what I am today. Long was the first chef owner to take me from the front of the house to the back. He inspired me to learn and love what I had now found as my new passion. The flavors he introduced me to were nothing I had ever known about and without him I would still be found behind the bar. Then I found the other two greats who each taught me different things, Adam’s restaurant Wandering Tabled showed me how to get creative and think outside the box and Travis well he inspires me daily to love what you do, how to be a great owner, how to turn basic items into works of art. They all showed me it was possible to move forward with my dream to open my own space in an area I loved but felt it needed to be elevated. I am proud of my little baby restaurant and am proud it has done so well that we just opened our little bar itty-bitty Buddha. Again inspired by our love for the Asian flavors we create lovely, creative cocktails made with our house infused Sake. We like to name our spaces small, but there is nothing small about our unique flavors.

Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Tracy Rose has been in Chef for 38 years. He’s worked in all variations of kitchens from fine dining, country clubs, corporate dining, to running multiple restaurants in the casino. He is most recently become the Executive Chef at the CDA Casino in 2019, he was the Executive Sous Chef before that for 5 years. He has played a role in all of the restaurants out here from the buffet (before it closed due to Covid), deli, Twisted Earth, Red Tail, Chinook and opening of the new Little Dragon restaurant. He also plays a huge roll behind the scene in the employee lounge, onsite bakery, DMO, Culinary Maintenance and prep team. He has a degree from Scottsdale Culinary Institute. He’s cooked for President Bush Sr. and lots of other famous actors and athletes in some of the places that he’s been the head Chef. He loves horse racing. One thing most of the team members that have ever worked for Tracy will tell you is that he is very down to earth. He doesn’t cook for the recognition he cooks to please peoples palates. He brings our team together and he is respected by not only the back of house team but the front of house team as well.

Sweet Frostings Jessica, Sally’s youngest child of three, has worked at Sweet Frostings since the very first booth at a small thrift fair the summer of 2011. She attended Spokane Falls Community College for business and spent time working in the restaurant industry. She has worked her way up from sales & office assistant to become a valued Manager and CEO of the Company. Jessica serves on the board for the business improvement district (BID) for the Spokane Downtown Partnership since 2021 and graduated the SBA Emerging Leaders Program. Jessica is married and lives in Spokane Valley.

Francaise Born and raised just outside of Spokane in the small town of Cheney, Kayleigh has alwaysbeen a native of the Pacific Northwest. In 2010, she moved to Portland to attend art school.She began working in various restaurants and quickly rediscovered a passion for cooking. In2016, she and her husband moved back to Spokane to be closer to family. Full of confidence inher abilities and a drive to learn, she began working in Spokane restaurants to continue honingher skills as a chef. She is always striving to improve her skills, and loves new opportunities togrow. When not in the kitchen, you can find her shooting pool league. Her competitive naturefuels her spirit and her friends and family keep it fun. Kayleigh has always been an animallover, she grew up on a small farm and was constantly around all kinds of animals. She hasfivee fur babies, four dogs and one cat all rescued from various places. Her favorite thing to dowhen she gets home is snuggle up with them. Being a part of Crave as an Executive Chef is anopportunity I have been looking forward to. I have been to Crave twice now as Sous Chef andam looking forward to the opportunity to be featured along side some of the best Chefs in thearea.

Cosmic Cowboy Chris White is a local chef who lives in Spokane Valley. He graduated from the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy. He is now Director of Operations at DeLeon’s.  Chris’ previously experience includes Corporate Chef and Director of Operations for Cosmic Cowboy Grills in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane, Treasurer of WEDNI (Weddings and Events Directory of N Idaho), Secretary of the American Culinary Federations local chapter, adjunct instructor at the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy, and sits on the advisory committees for the N Idaho College Culinary Program and the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy. He loves catering and events, that’s what got him into culinary arts and the hospitality industry. Cosmic Cowboy Grill was voted Best Caterer in N Idaho by the Inlander in 2022.

The year was 1990, and quite frankly, Felipe Hernandez needed a job.“Everyone had always loved our family’s tamales, and I decided, why not open a restaurant that features tamales. I’d get to do something I love, and hopefully, we’d have enough customers to make a living,” he stated. Felipe learned the recipe from his sister Leocadia Sanchez, and the rest as they say is history. He named the restaurant Los Hernandez Tamales, and he started making tamales with other family members – and a reputation was quickly made. Their process starts with mesa, and Los Hernandez mills their own from dried corn, one of the unique attributes of their delicious tamales. They then hand prepare each tamale, by spreading the mesa on the corn husk and adding the appropriate filling. There is an art to properly creating a tamale, and the Los Hernandez crew has it down to a science, able to make 120 dozen tamales in under four hours. Their business was steady, and then they decided to throw a little twist into their tamale making. It turned out Hernandez wasn’t the only one who loved asparagus. So did their customers. The word quickly got out that Los Hernandez Tamales in Union Gap, WA had this wonderful seasonal product, and people started showing up from all over the state and beyond. They even had international requests for their tamales. They had so much demand for these tamales, that they’d have to post ‘sold out’ signs when that day’s supply was gone. Since that time, Los Hernandez has continued to build on their reputation as the premium tamale in the region and the state. In 2014 they introduced their jalapeno and pepper jack cheese tamale, which is now another popular seasonal product.

Daniel Gonzalez went to the Art Institute of Seattle to earn his culinary degree. He worked in many up-and-coming restaurants until meeting his mentor in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle. At that point, he gravitated towards the private sector before moving back home to Spokane to be closer to family. His time in Seattle afforded him the opportunity to refine his skill set in classic French and Italian techniques. During his tenure in Spokane, he has worked in several restaurants, the most recent being with the Eat Good Group for over six years. His approach to cuisine is a blend of his classic training mixed with recipes from his abuelitas. The passion comes from his heart, the skill from his hands. 

Chef Caleb Smith has been integral in the development of the restaurant at Arbor Crest, bringing creativity, passion and attention to detail with every dish. Caleb enjoys creating recipes that pair well with Arbor Crest’s world-class wines and enchanting estate.