Joseph Wong, Executive Chef

Joseph Wong of Sturbridge, Mass. joined The Sole Proprietor in 1999 as an Executive Chef after serving as an instructor at Paul Smith College, a culinary school in Paul Smith, N.Y. In addition to teaching, he was responsible for operating two restaurants and a student kitchen. The restaurants he managed were Lydia's, a fine-dining establishment seating 80+, and The Boathouse, a casual dining restaurant seating 45.

Before joining Paul Smith College, Joe spent two years as Executive Chef at The Kravis Center for Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Kravis Center included a 130-seat fine-dining restaurant and banquet facilities that could serve up to 1,800 people. He also served as a working Executive Chef for six years at The Shipyard, a 225-seat fine-dining restaurant in Albany, N.Y. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. and is a Certified Chef.

What he likes about serving as Executive Chef at The Sole Proprietor, he said, is, "the pace, the food, the people and the management."

He cooks a wide range of meals, he said, but "a lot of my dishes have an Asian flair. I have a background in Japanese and Indonesian cooking. I like to infuse those flavors in some of my dishes."

Stefano Zimei, Executive Chef

Award-winning chef Stefano Zimei brings a seasoned eye for creativity and a passion for fresh, European-inspired cooking to his post as Executive Chef of The Sole Proprietor.

He has headed up such notable and celebrated kitchens as those at Gallia in Boston's South End; The Federalist, at Boston's boutique XV Beacon hotel; Aquitaine - the South End's Parisian bistro,The Rowes Wharf restaurant at The Boston Harbor Hotel, and most recently at 111 Chop House.

He was awarded gold, silver and bronze medals at the New York Food Show; a gold medal at Spinazzola Boston, and a silver medal at the 126th Salon of Culinary Arts. He also received "Boston's Best Appetizer Award" from the Boston Phoenix and second prize at Bertolli's, "Top 10 Sous Chefs Contest."

With a degree in culinary arts from renowned Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I.., he brings expert techniques and rave reviews to The Sole Proprietor.