An exclusive interview with KraftHeinz Corporate Chef, Duane Gojsovich.
For our FSD Chef Series, we asked KraftHeinz Corporate Chef, Duane Gojsovich, a series of questions about his career, favorite kitchen tools, and more!
Read his answers and try out his elevated take on iconic carnitas tacos.
Shop for all ingredients, including limited time deals on A.1. Sauce on Food Service Direct! Follow the links on the specific ingredients or visit our website directly at www.foodservicedirect.com.
Q1: What inspired you to become a chef?
Seeing the joy that good food provided to family and friends early on lead me to pursue a career where I could be creative while making people happy and appreciative of the work that was put into it.
Seeing the joy that good food provided to family and friends early on lead me to pursue a career where I could be creative while making people happy and appreciative of the work that was put into it.
Q2: What is your favorite KraftHeinz product to cook with?
Philadelphia® Cream Cheese is one of my favorite products to work with. The quality that the brand brings is second to none and the cream cheese itself is a blank slate when it comes to being a host for a wide range of flavors both sweet and savory.
It also provides me opportunities to work within all sections of the menu and throughout all day parts as well.
Q3: What is your favorite dish to prepare and why?
A Baked Mac & Cheese. It such a comforting dish and my recipe utilizes both a bit of Philadelphia® and Velveeta ® cheeses for extra creaminess and stability.
The mac & cheese can be served as is for an amazing side dish or elevated with some jalapeno, bacon, truffle, crab or lobster.
Q4: What are the top 3 kitchen tools you always keep on hand?
My favorite chef knife, a whisk and a microplane zester.
Q5: What advice would you give to aspiring chefs or culinary professionals?
Stay humble and stay hungry. Stay grounded and be someone who others like to be around.
Remain starved for new information with regards to ingredients, recipes, and techniques throughout your career.
Chef Duane's Recipe Pick
A.1. Spiced Carnitas
Ingredients:
30 Lime Wedges
Preparation:
1. Combine the A.1. Sauce, chipotle in adobo, shredded pork and salt in a large pan. Heat until warmedthrough and hold for service.
2. For each order, build 3 tacos by heating up 3 tortillas and topping each with 3 tablespoons of the seasoned shredded pork. Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, and chopped cilantro.
3. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
About Chef Duane
Duane serves as a corporate chef as part of the culinary team at the KraftHeinz Company. As part of the foodservice division, he is responsible for supporting customers with new menu development utilizing items from the vast KraftHeinz branded portfolio of products. He also works closely with the Research and Development team to develop and execute customer proprietary projects around sauces, soups and condiments.
Duane has extensive foodservice experience within the restaurant, healthcare, sports & entertainment and catering segments of the industry. Prior to joining KraftHeinz, Duane spent 22 years within healthcare at the UPMC Health System and Allegheny Health Network where he held a variety of chef and management positions focusing on patient feeding, vending, employee and visitor dining and onsite/offsite catering.
At the Aramark Corporation, Duane was an executive chef for the Igloo Club at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh where he oversaw the food service operations for in-suite dining, press feeding, private club dining, banquets and player/entertainment meals.
Duane began his professional career training and graduating from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.