Born in Hoxie Hospital on December 18, 1976, Brian has since lived in seven different towns throughout Kansas. Brian started cooking when he was about 5 years old making pancakes with his father. Brian was interested in cooking at a young age and his family encouraged him greatly. Brian’s Grandmother Tasset would save him about every Good Housekeeping recipe she could find and his Grandmother Strecker had ten sons, so the family reunions were fairly large. Food preparations took up most of Grandmother Strecker’s time so I helped when I could.

When Brian turned 21, he made up his mind to attend The Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona. Brian completed the program and received his Associates Degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts and Sciences. Brian has been a Sous Chef for the PB&J Corporate and Pachamama’s.

Born in California, Dana moved with her family to Overland Park, Kansas in 1989 and remained there until graduating from high school in 1997. Shortly after graduation, she moved back to San Francisco to re-establish her California roots. While living in San Francisco and working at the Slanted Door restaurant, Dana gained an appreciation for the aesthetics of fine dining and grew a passion for the culinary arts.

She moved to San Diego in 1999, and graduated from the California Culinary Academy in La Mesa, California in 2000. Dana worked in the kitchen at The Prado restaurant and Aubergine in San Diego before moving to Los Angeles in 2003. She took a position as the Restaurant Manager at the Loews Beverly Hills Hotel. After a year, Dana moved back to Overland Park to be near her family, and enrolled in a Business Management program at Baker University.

In 2005, Dana moved to Lawrence after accepting the Sous Chef position with Krause Dining. She is now happy to be a part of the Pachamama’s Management team.

Born and raised in Kansas City, KS, Richard’s love of food culture was developed during the years he spent cooking and eating at his grandmother’s house. Being a grandchild of Mexican immigrants left lasting culinary impressions with him throughout his childhood and young adult years.

In order to cement a job in the industry, Richard began as a dishwasher in Lawrence. A few years later, he moved to Boston to pursue work in the kitchen. His experience on the east coast opened an opportunity in Los Angeles to work for Paper Palate Catering where Richard crafted his culinary skills. Richard returned to Kansas when he decided it was time to call the Midwest home again. In addition to helping manage Pachamama’s PR and Marketing, Richard enjoys supporting the local food culture and exceptional standards of food sourcing of which Pachamama’s succeeds.

A native of not-really-anywhere-in-particular, Heather spent most of her childhood on the West Coast and finished high school in Kansas.  She attended Milligan College (TN) and Springdale College (ENG) before finishing her studies at the University of Kansas.  Knowing that a degree in Art History, History and English would get her nowhere, she happily accepted the bookkeeping position at The Bourgeois Pig.  Russell Livingston and Charles Whitman, then the current owners, did a superb job of training her right brain habits to embrace their left brain counterparts and soon the financial analysis flowed as easily as a last minute research paper.  Because of their mentoring and insight, Heather was able to work with other local companies in a variety of financial and organizational management capacities.

A loyal patron of Pachamama’s, Heather joined the restaurant’s team in the Spring of 2010 and has thoroughly enjoyed being introduced to the many intricacies of a fine dining establishment.  She is pleased she can contribute to the restaurant’s success and also be consistently near two of her favorite foods – bacon and crème fraîche.