Chef Andrew, a Clearwater native, has spent his entire life around food. With an Italian mother and a German father, Andrew grew up canning, farming, gardening, hunting, and doing everything related to food with his grandparents. With a vegetarian mother, if Andrew wanted to eat meat, he was going to have to learn to prepare it himself. Chef Andrew’s most treasured family memories involve food, which led him to his first job in a kitchen. What started out as a job washing dishes grew into a culinary career built from a hands-on education that has spanned 19 years. Andrew has always sought to better his knowledge and experience by learning all areas of the food and beverage industry be it in the kitchen or front of the house operations, making him a well-rounded culinary professional that is very in tune with customer needs and expectations. Most recently, Chef Andrew has joined the team at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort as Executive Chef overseeing the resort’s culinary operations. In his spare time, Andrew can be found out on the gulf waters. He continues his family memories as well as he lives in a home with four generations – all of whom love to cook. Andrew also finds time to give back to the community through his involvement with Hands on Education. Hands on Education is a non-profit organization that works with learning disabled students to train them in hotel services including the culinary arts. Andrew — who was himself a student there at one time — has trained legally blind students on knife skills and received an award for outstanding achievements.