Meet The Chef

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Chef Leslie Frankel has over 25 years of experience in corporate and private environments.  She is a graduate of The University of Massachusetts and The Culinary Institute of America.  She has worked in NYC, England, Colorado and New Jersey before moving to Maui, Hawaii as a chef for The Hyatt. Leslie  opened her first restaurant, The Pukalani Club House, on the slopes of Haleakala, Maui in 2006.  She soon followed with Maui Kosher Catering which provided private chef services for Kosher and Halal hotel guests as well as catering for  destination weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, and holiday events. 

 Leslie successfully ran both operations until moving back to her hometown of Philadelphia in 2016. She opened Tradewinds BYOB in the heart of Chestnut Hill in 2017, bringing Pacific Rim Cuisine and a love for Hawaii to Philly.  Seeing an opportunity to focus on a more personalized  style of catering,  she closed Tradewinds  and has grown her private chef and catering business to include highly personalized menu planning, intimate events, unique corporate functions, private parties and backstage catering.

She and her staff are the primary backstage caterer for The Mann Music Music Center and The Met  as well was other music venues in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware,  taking care of all catering and hospitality needs for touring artists and their staff.  

There is a personal connection creating a meal or planning a special event for someone, that has always been at the root of my cooking,  For me it is not just work, it is what I love to do.