Juan Garcia had watched the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) on television for years without ever imagining he'd cook in its kitchens himself. This year, he did. Walking onto the grounds on day one of his Pro Chef II exam, he said it "was a dream come true."

Garcia was one of six LifeWorks chefs who spent three intensive days at the CIA this year, baking bread many of them don't bake for a living, cooking a regional cuisine pulled at random, and plating every dish for CIA judges trained to catch what a less experienced kitchen would miss. He was joined by fellow LifeWorks Restaurant Group chefs Anthony Lacrete, Gustavo Herrera, Jose Valdez-Santander, Phil Perrow, and Zach Tate.

A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

For Jose Valdez-Santander, he did not go to culinary school. He started in small restaurants and worked his way up through LifeWorks kitchens over more than two decades, learning one station at a time. Standing on the CIA's grounds this year, he said "Not only is it rewarding, but it's a life opportunity. I think it's going to be great for my career."

Asked what the certification meant to him, he didn't hesitate. "It was one of the best opportunities that LifeWorks has given me," he said.

LifeWorks Chefs That Completed Their Pro Chef 2 Certification

What Pro Chef II Is

Pro Chef II is a certification partnership between LifeWorks and the CIA, one of the most respected names in culinary education. Chefs spend months preparing, then travel to the CIA in Hyde Park for three days of testing under CIA judges. Day one is baking and pastry, day two is built around a regional cuisine, and day three is plant-forward, with a chef watching and scoring every station. What they walk out with is a credential that belongs to them for the rest of their career.

Getting there takes six to eight months of preparation on top of a full-time role. Chefs study regional techniques they may never have touched, drill baking fundamentals that don't come naturally to most savory cooks, and run practice weeks in borrowed kitchens with senior chefs who don't hold back on feedback.

Never Alone in the Kitchen

None of that preparation happens alone. LifeWorks culinary leadership checks in throughout the process: reviewing menus, tasting practice dishes, and staying reachable by phone through the hardest stretches.

Jose Valdez-Santander leaned on Chef Eddie Campos and Culinary Director Margaret Occhipinti after a rough day at the CIA. "They pushed me along," he said. "They made my confidence go up by seventy-five percent."

Zach Tate credits Chef Paul Kostandin with the organizational template that carried him through all three days. "He gave me the Bible on how to organize my information, how to organize my recipes," Tate said.

The Week That Changes How Chefs See Themselves

For Anthony Lacrete, a LifeWorks Catering Sous Chef, baking was the hurdle. He isn't a baker by trade, and his Executive Chef pushed him through it Friday after Friday leading up to the exam. His plant-forward day became the standout: a Sardinian menu built with guidance from a chef on his own team who has family roots in the region. "The food has to look as good as it tastes," Lacrete said. "If it doesn't look good, it's not going to taste good."

By the end of the week, judges told Garcia a pasta dish he'd made carried them straight back to Italy. He and fellow chef Gustavo Herrera leaned on each other the whole way through. "We were so proud to take pictures there," Garcia said. "It was the power of ourselves, that we did it on our own."

Zach Tate was assigned Mexican cuisine for his regional day. It wasn't his own culinary background, but it drew on something he already knew: the food his own kitchen staff cooks for family meal, dishes rooted in their own family recipes. It became his highest-scoring day of the week. "The kitchen is the leveler," Tate said of stepping back into a space built to strip away everything but technique. Three weeks after finishing Pro Chef II, Tate was promoted to executive chef at his location.

Why LifeWorks Keeps Investing Here

For Greta Patel, President of LifeWorks Restaurant Group, the value of Pro Chef II starts with a single afternoon. "Sharing a meal with the chefs who've just finished their three-day testing is one of the best parts of my job," she said. "Hearing their journeys that have brought them to this point in their careers, and the way they pushed through these last three days, fills me with pride and joy for everything they've accomplished."

The value shows up in more than that one meal. "Earning this accreditation from CIA, an incredibly prestigious culinary institution, changes how they see themselves," she said. "It changes how they show up to work for their teams. That pride is contagious, and it spreads."

She also sees it as a long-term investment in her people. "Longer term, it's a retention tool. People stay where they're growing and feel valued. This is tangible growth they can point to on a resume or in a promotion conversation." Zach's promotion to Executive Chef three weeks after graduation is one example already on the books.

Back in their own kitchens, the six chefs are already passing it on. Valdez-Santander said the week left him paying closer attention to knife cuts and consistency across his whole team. Garcia is teaching his cooks to make the pasta and bread he practiced for months. Herrera is working with his sous chefs on how his kitchen researches and builds out cuisines it hasn't tackled before.

Congratulations to this year's Pro Chef II class: Anthony Lacrete, Gustavo Herrera, Jose Valdez-Santander, Juan Garcia, Phil Perrow, and Zach Tate. Next year, a new group of LifeWorks chefs will be changed by the same three days.

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At LifeWorks Restaurant Group, we turn bold ideas into refined hospitality experiences. Rooted in your culture and guided by a sophisticated perspective, we craft thoughtful, elevated experiences that leave a lasting impression. For organizations that treat food as a strategic amenity, that experience becomes the reason people come in, stay, and connect. Imagination Well Served.

LifeWorks Chefs That Completed Their Pro Chef 2 Certification