Chef Dan

Before Wings and Rings

"I’ve been cooking in kitchens my entire life with the exception of a three month stint in the late 70’s when I went to work on a shrimp boat in Corpus Christi, only to be interrupted by Hurricane Anita." -Chef Dan.

Chef Dan returned from that short shrimp boat endeavor and quickly rose in the restaurant industry. He became executive chef at Fedora Café in Kansas City which was ranked in the top ten by USA Today. There, he earned recognition and acclaim for his cutting edge approach and incorporation of ingredients that he imported from overseas.

From Fedora Café, Chef Dan moved into the hotel segment as an executive chef with Marriott, followed by a stint as corporate executive chef at John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts and then spent 14 years at Houlihan’s Restaurants, Inc. where he became vice president of culinary and oversaw menu development for Houlihan’s, J. Gilbert’s Wood-Fired Steaks and Devon Seafood Grill. Most recently, Chef Dan became a partner in fine dining seafood restaurant Brendon's Catch 23 in Louisville, Kentucky, before joining Wings and Rings at the beginning of 2019.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working under and with a ton of great people in my career and I see incredible opportunity to apply the knowledge I’ve garnered in my career to further innovate and elevate the Wings and Rings menu,” - Chef Dan

Here's to new beginnings

Since new ownership took over Wings and Rings in 2005, the company has been focused on providing a club level, VIP experience for guests which includes an elevated menu not found at typical sports bars. The addition of Chef Dan, and his more than four decades of experience, furthers that commitment from the brand. Chef Dan hit the ground running at Wings and Rings in just his first few months on the job, focusing early attention towards research and development aimed at elevating all aspects of the menu and to expand on the brand’s established offerings.

“People ask how I went from fine dining to Wings and Rings and when you're in fine dining, you appreciate what you're doing and the craft but it's not necessarily what you crave. You see this a lot with chefs who make a name for themselves in fine dining – they end up opening places with food that they crave. Wings and Rings is all the food that I love. It's flavor-forward and chef-driven. It’s a really great group of people who run the company too. It’s a really collaborative environment and it feels like a family.” - Chef Dan