Chef Michael Fiala Joins CVNPA Staff

3/20/2008

Peninsula, Ohio- Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association is pleased to announce chef Michael Fiala has joined the staff as executive chef.“Michael brings a dedication to local food production that is a welcome addition to our staff,” said Chief Executive Officer Deb Yandala. “Providing nutritious meals for all our visitors has always been a top priority, and with Michael on our staff we will maintain that focus while cultivating sustainable sources for our food.”

Fiala believes strongly that we become stewards of the land as we focus on eating locally produced food. However, he wants to continue to retain the camp flavor with an eye toward sustainability.

“Being at the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center, the children are learning where things come from and how nature is interconnected,” Fiala said. “With our cooking, I hope to incorporate that idea to reinforce the importance of sustainability and stewardship.” Fiala also hopes to establish relationships with other area school chefs and food service directors to encourage the use of locally produced products.

“I want to open the children’s eyes to the idea of eating locally,” he said. And then, he hopes, this will encourage them later in life to be conscious of their food decisions.

Fiala comes to CVNPA from the Inn at Turner’s Mill where he served as executive chef for three years. But he is not new to camps and environmental education. In college, Fiala worked as a camp counselor at Camp Jewell in Colebrook, Conn. He also received a bachelor of science in biology from Kent State University before getting his associate’s degree in culinary arts from the Culinary Arts Institute in New York.