KEEP IT FRESH. KEEP IT SIMPLE.
Chef Ken McNamee is a former Ritz-Carlton chef, an international award-winning culinarian, spa chef, world-traveler, and published author. Ken is trained in classical French cooking and has over 25 years of experience in the food and beverage industry.
Ken was born in Norwalk, California, and grew up in Portland, Oregon. In 1988, as an apprentice chef, he received a scholarship to the Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany. Two years later, he graduated as a certified cook.
He moved to Sydney where he worked at the Royal Sydney Golf Club, Southern Cross, and InterContinental. He also rose to the level of executive sous chef at the Sydney Ritz-Carlton.
In 1997, he became the executive chef of the Columbia Tower Club in Seattle, Washington. In 1999 and 2000, he also appeared as a guest chef at the American Club, Singapore. In 2004, Ken was certified by the American Culinary Foundation (ACF) as an executive chef.
In 2006, Chef Ken accepted a position at the prestigious American Club in Hong Kong. He lived there for nearly five years and traveled Asia extensively. Here, Ken picked up tips and tricks on Asian cooking from everyone to top chefs to grandmas selling delicious street food.
Ken returned to America at the end of 2010, and in 2011 he relocated to North Carolina, where he began his catering company, Chef Ken’s Catering (CKC). In 2014, Ken and CKC then moved to Seattle, Washington, serving the Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest.
In 2004, Ken was the ACF Washington State Chef of the Year, ACF Western Regional Chef of the Year, and was one of four chefs competing for the prestigious ACF USA 2004 Chef of the Year title.
Ken has now won over fifteen awards in domestic and international food competitions, appeared as a featured chef on shows like “Culinary Olympics” and “The Best of Taste,” and has had the honor of cooking for prestigious individuals from around the world.
Through Chef Ken’s Catering, he offers personal chef service to provide ongoing daily and weekly menus for clients, private chef service (with limited availability), special event catering, as well as virtual and in-home cooking classes.
He published 88 Cooking Tips to Save You Time and Money in 2014 and a cookbook, “Cooking for Two, Healthy Restaurant Quality Meals with Narratives” in 2018.