Kathy Koenig, Chief Executive Officer, is a 30-year veteran of the food industry and decided to take the challenge of founding her own Off-Premise Catering business. Kathy’s vision and direction have been the foundation for the growth and success of Culinary Concepts over the past 15 years. She is a master at large-scale event organization with an extraordinary sense of timing and a sharp skill for on-the-spot decision-making. In keeping with her personality, Kathy’s relationships with employees, clients and vendors alike are consistently based on respect, fairness, and honesty. As a result, Kathy has built Culinary Concepts into a company well known in the San Diego catering industry for friendly service, excellent cuisine and beautiful presentation.

Manfred O. Gerzabek, Chef/President, is a native of Austria, where he studied the Culinary Arts. Manfred graduated with honors from Tyrol, Austria’s Schonegg University, and apprenticed at Europe’s well-known Wagon Lits Cook Oriental Express. Manfred has held the position of Executive Chef at prestigious hotels around the world and in the United States, including three Rockefeller Resorts in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, the Hotel Steffani in St. Moritz, Phoenix’s Arizona Biltmore Hotel and the Hyatt Regency Resort in Scottsdale. One highlight of Manfred’s career was preparing and presenting a luncheon for the Queen Mother and Princess Anne of England at the Grand Jersey Hotel in England. For over 25 years, Manfred has dedicated himself to the field of Off-Premise Catering. His extensive background in World Wide cuisine is demonstrated in his broad array of creative specialty foods and presentation.

Lindsay Sudel, Catering Specialist: Throughout Lindsay's lengthy career in the hospitality industry, she has traversed the globe, and worn many different hats! Prior to her work with Culinary Concepts, most recently she acted as Director of Catering at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ. Before that she was Director of Catering for Plaza Del Pasado-DNC Parks & Resorts, and did Private Dining Sales for the Chart House Inc. (La Jolla, Cardiff by the Sea & Oceanside). Lindsay also owned Lindsay Sudel Inc. Catering at Madison Square Garden as well as the Allegria Restaurant in Auckland, New Zealand. She has over 10 years experience as a General Manager of various restaurants, has lived in Seoul, Korea and taught TOEFL English classes, and worked for the US Embassy-Seoul. Lindsay is creative, passionate, and animated, and is eager to assist her clients in putting together unforgettable events!

Gina Eliason, Catering Specialist: Gina Eliason has over 10 years experience in the event planning industry. Creative Design and Program Development was her focus at a local San Diego Destination Management Company for 6 years. Gina will be dedicated to your program as a consistent point of contact from the proposal development until the very last guest leaves your event. She brings with her vast experience in managing programs at venues throughout the San Diego Area, guaranteeing the highest level of service. Gina has played a key role in large programs including 5,000 guests at the Midway, 1,500 guests at the Natural History Museum, 3,500 guests at Miramar Marine Base, and 1,300 guests at the Amylin Pharmaceuticals Holiday Event, just to name a few. Detail and deadline oriented, Gina's primary goal is client service. Working with Gina will guarantee you a team member with great communication skills, that will offer you expert advice on menu choices, event style, décor, and vendor selections, will help monitor your event’s budget, and will make sure you are confident in our services and are able to relax and have fun at your own party (as you should!!).

Brianna Kebo, Junior Sales Associate: Brianna has been with Culinary Concepts for nearly 2 years, and was first introduced to us working as a member of our waitstaff. She now spearheads our Delivery/Express Catering Department, working closely with our local corporate clients. Brianna is a 2006 Graduate of UCSD, and has completed both the UCSD Meeting Management and Special Event Planning Certificate Program, as well as the QC School of Wedding Planning International Wedding Planning Professional Courses. Brianna is an international traveler, having lived abroad in Japan and visited Fiji and New Zealand. Brianna is also an expert Wedding Coordinator, and loves being onsite at events assuring each element of the day goes off without a hitch.

Laura Seery, Catering Coordinator: Laura has over 5 years of experience in San Diego's Catering and Restaurant industry. Prior to that, Laura worked for several years in a professional environment, both in marketing and in the mortgage industry, until one day she realized that her passion for all aspects of fine cuisine, entertainment, and customer service were not being satisfied working in a cubicle! She began her career in the catering industry as a cook at another local catering & special event company, but later recognized that the best way to utilize her creativity, along with her sales, research and administrative skills would be on the planning side, rather than in the kitchen. Laura coordinates marketing efforts, proposal generation and menu creation, and is extremely detail-oriented, ensuring that no minute detail of your event will be overlooked.

Craig E. Martin, Operations Director: A graduate of Southern California College with both management and marketing degrees, Craig joined Culinary Concepts in 2006 after an accomplished career with several restaurant concepts across the country. Craig’s management experience ranges from casual to formal service working with American, Asian, Latin, and Continental menus. At Culinary Concepts. Craig is responsible for delegating each separate event element to our experienced event staff, reviewing all vendor orders (rentals, lighting, entertainment, florist, bar, etc.) for accuracy and completeness, managing the load-in and load-out of all equipment, and overseeing and managing event staff throughout the duration of the event. His passion for impeccable service, top-quality food and fine wines rings through in every event. His staff stands ready to meet their clients’ every need from beginning to end. Whether your event is for 30 or 3000, Craig’s hands-on involvement and the Culinary Concepts Operations team’s efforts will work all of your event’s details through to fruition. You’ll see it all in your guests’ smiles. Craig and his team welcome the opportunity to serve you and your guests at your next event.