About Chef Dan Ost

Chef Dan Ost, FSP, is a professionally-trained commercial Executive Master Chef with over two decades of experience in the food business, having worked in Florida at the Redington Beach Hilton, Clearwater Beach Hilton, Rollin' Oats Natural Foods Cafe, and Nature's Harvest.

Background

Chef Dan is a formally-trained Master Chef apprenticed under Master Chefs Sally Pasty and Frank Vargas. After completing a BA in Journalism from the University of Indiana, Dan took a Chef position working in a natural foods and vegetarian restaurant in picturesque Nashville, Indiana, where he lived in one of the oldest log cabins in the state. Chef Dan went on to work in large venue hotels as the dining room and catering manager, before his move to Florida.

In Florida, Chef Dan designed and opened the brand-new fine dining venue at the Redington Hilton in Redington Beach, FL. There he became a Hilton Priority One trainer for Hilton Hotels Chef Programs, and participated in a Florida-to-Holland chef exchange to train in Amsterdam, Holland, to bring Florida-style cuisine to Amsterdam's "Martin" restaurant. Chef Dan won several awards during this period for his inventive menu creations.

Natural foods called Chef Dan again in the early 90's, starting the Rollin' Oats Natural Foods Cafe, and later going on to  work with Natures' Harvest Market. An expert in healthy natural cuisine, Chef Dan has been a frequent resource for the local media about vegetarian cooking. After running a Personal Chef business for a couple of years, and assisting WeekDay Gourmet as their corporate chef, Chef Dan decided to relocate to the Austin, TX area in 2008 where he is once again in the natural foods business.

Chef Dan currently lives in the Austin, TX area with his wife, Diana, who is a technical writer and Web designer. When he is not planning menus, Chef Dan plays guitar and mandolin in the duo Flatlander Folk.

Awards

• Top Hilton Hotel in Florida award for food and beverage customer satisfaction for three year's running Awards
• First Place, Florida Suncoast Seafood Competition, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Media

• Frequent expert reference for the local press about natural foods and recipes.
• Featured in St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune, Weekly Planet, and Tampa Bay Magazine.