Meet the Chefs
Ken Vedrinski - Coda del Pesce
Ken Vedrinski is executive chef, owner, and sommelier of his all Italian seafood restaurant that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, Coda del Pesce as well as his charming downtown Charleston restaurant, Trattoria Lucca, both recently ranked among Charleston’s Best Restaurants by Zagat.
Moving deftly through an award-winning career spanning decades, and a variety of haute cuisine styles, Chef Ken Vedrinski found his passion and heritage in Italian fare. A three-time James Beard Award semi-finalist, he found his “place” in Charleston, a coastal city rich with fresh bounty from the land and sea, and a long way from land-locked Columbus, Ohio where he was born.
Vedrinski grew up cooking in his grandmother’s kitchen under her passion-infused, Italian-influenced tutelage. He was an eager student with such fervor for food that it led to his degree in restaurant management from Columbus College and a three-year apprenticeship under Certified Master Chef Hartmut Handke. His lifelong passion and career were ignited. Years later, Vedrinski was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University.
His first role as an executive chef was at the acclaimed Opus Restaurant in the former Swissôtel Atlanta, where his talent was quickly lauded when Opus was named “One of the Best New Restaurants in America (1991),” by Esquire Magazine. Chef Vedrinski was an early adopter of the practice and promotion of farm to table freshness as he heralded Georgia homegrown foods, landing him a spot on The Today Show.
Vedrinski also served as executive chef at The Restaurant at Woodlands Inn & Resort where he earned the only Mobile Five-Stars awarded to a South Carolina restaurant. In 2002, the restaurant received the only perfect food score in North America by Condé Nast Traveler.
Vedrinski was lauded by Esquire as having “One of the Best New American Restaurants (2004),” he was a James Beard Award semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant, and was also recognized as a James Beard Award semi-finalist for Best Chef in the Southeast.
Dale Talde - Goosefeather
Dale’s passion for cooking began at a young age in his native Chicago where he learned to prepare meals alongside his mother in the kitchen. The proud son of Filipino immigrants, he grew up immersed in his family’s cultural heritage, while also enjoying the life of a typical American kid.
Dale applied this distinct Asian American experience to the menu of his eponymous restaurant, TALDE, which opened in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood in 2012. He went on to open a TALDE in Miami, Florida and in Jersey City, New Jersey. Dale debuted his first project in Manhattan with the opening of Massoni at the Arlo NoMad Hotel in November 2016. His second Manhattan restaurant called Rice & Gold opened in October 2017 at the 50 Bowery Hotel in Chinatown. In Florida, Dale also had three locations in the food hall Grandview Public Market in West Palm Beach. They were called The Corner, Clare's and Little Red Truck.
In 2018, Dale became business partners with his life partner. Dale and Agnes built foodcrushhospitality.com. They opened Goosefeather in 2019.
In addition to his work in the kitchen, Dale was also a three-time cheftestant and judge on Bravo’s Emmy Award-winning culinary show, “Top Chef.” He competed in Season 4, “All Star” Season 8, “Top Chef Duels”, and became one of the show’s most popular cast members. Dale has competed on “Chopped,” “Iron Chef America,” “Knife Fight” and was also head judge on “Knife Fight” Season 4, as well as a guest judge on both “Chopped” and “Beat Bobby Flay.”
In September of 2015, Grand Central Publishing released Dale’s first cookbook, Asian American, to rave reviews.
Carrie Nahabedian - Brindille & Kostali at the Gwen Hotel
A native of Chicago’s northern suburbs, Chef Carrie Nahabedian began her career as a teenager, working in the kitchens of the Ritz Carlton. Her celebrated path has taken her from Le Perroquet, Jovan and Le Francais to LaTour at the Park Hyatt, and ultimately, a hard-earned title as Executive Chef, Four Seasons Hotels in Chicago, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
With her invaluable education in hospitality, Chef Carrie and her restaurateur cousin, Michael Nahabedian, opened NAHA in November of 2000. Her Mediterranean-inspired American cuisine earned a Michelin Star for seven consecutive years, a James Beard Award for “Best Chef, Great Lakes”, and four stars by Phil Vettel—the highest rating given by the legendary Chicago Tribune critic.
In April of 2013, Carrie and Michael opened Brindille—French for “twig”—offering refined Parisian cuisine, a celebration of their love of French culinary traditions, techniques and flavors. Hailed as the “Best Restaurant to Open in 2013” by the Chicago Tribune, Brindille was later awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for “Outstanding Restaurant Design, 2015” for the work of Tom Nahabedian and Bureau of Architecture and Design.
On September 22, 2009, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley named it “Carrie Nahabedian Day”, coinciding with her induction into the Chicago Chefs Hall of Fame, and in 2016, Chef Carrie was awarded the Jean Banchet Lifetime Achievement Award. On March 31, 2018, NAHA closed after eighteen years, just as Brindille celebrated its fifth anniversary on Clark Street. With the closing of her beloved NAHA comes the announcement of a new restaurant, further securing Chef Carrie’s place as not only a pioneer of the past, but an active participant in the future of hospitality.