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---Chef John Koltisko
 ----Corporate Chef and Food and Beverage Director
----for Sam and Harry’s and The Caucus Room, --------- Washington, DC

Chef Johan Koltisko is a local boy, born and raised in Falls Church Virginia. His love for food and cooking started at a very young age, with fond memories of following his grandmother and grandfather around in the kitchen. John has worked in restaurants all his life and is a 1989 CIA graduate. That is where he met his wife Karen. After graduating he returned to the area and worked at the Four Seasons in DC. His then girlfriend returned to Milwaukee where she was from, and it wasn’t long before John found himself moving
to Milwaukee and together opening their owned casual dinning restaurant. Twelve years and four children later, they found that the hours weren’t conducive to raising a family and they decided to sell the restaurant and return to the DC area.In 2003 John joined Sam and Harry’s as their Executive Chef. He is now their Corporate Chef and F.B. for both the Caucus Room and Sam and Harry's in DC and two other Sam and Harry' s in Chicago and Newport Beach CA.



John would like to see an insurgence of the family restaurant. He would like people to see the difference in the family owned little guy compared to the cookie cutter establishments that seem to be taking over.

His personal goals are to see local schools put healthy foods on their plates. Local schools are doing a disservice, and he and his wife would both love to get more involved with the funding programs with a nutritional factor.

John now lives out in South Riding, and leaves for DC at 4:30 a.m. He spends most of his free time with his wife and 4 children. Usually they do what the kids want. They love to fish and visit local Farmers Markets, but this is no ordinary family. All of John’s kids ages 12, 9, 7 and 3, love to cook and his oldest is already making hand made pasta. He says he’s grooming his youngest to be pastry chefs.






John’s advice to new and upcoming chefs is to keep your temperament at an even keel. If you’re not planning on going to culinary school, work with as many chefs as possible and read as much as possible and ask questions. There are really no new products coming out, a strip loin is a strip loin, but what changes is the fashion of food. Once you get your basics down go out and see what’s happening around you that pertains to food. Go and see new restaurants and meet the chefs. John feels in order for DC to be known as a food town, established chefs need to help mentor up and coming chefs, and promote the next generation.




Click here to Try the John's
Chicken Breast Herb De Provence.

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