Kathy Casey Food Studios: Associates

Associate Bios

Travis Childers, Sous Chef
Heather Jones, Accounts Manager
Erwin C. Santiago, Social Media Manager
Keith Waldbauer, Associate Mixologist
John Casey, Business Partner
Jessica Duncan, Culinary Associate
Ann Manly, Development Associate
Cameo McRoberts, Associate Chef
Jill Benson, Executive Assistant

TRAVIS CHILDERS
Sous Chef as well as Multimedia Designer for Kathy Casey Food Studios and Dish D’Lish, Travis Childers has been cooking since he was old enough to hold a spatula. He graduated from the Le Cordon Bleu in Scottsdale, Arizona with a degree in Culinary Arts and his Le Cordon Bleu Diplôme. In addition to running the kitchen and working with Kathy behind the bar, Travis uses his artistic skills and eye for design as staff Webmaster, Multimedia Designer and Photo Editor. He also works closely with the Dish D’Lish airport stores to make sure everything is “D’lish”. Before joining the Food Studios he worked in restaurants and catering in Arizona, Anchorage and New York before returning to his home town of Seattle. When he’s not stirring things up in the kitchen or mixing tipples behind the bar, you’ll find him strumming his guitar, crafting housemade liqueurs and tinctures, enjoying a good whisk(e)y, or snapping photos around town.

HEATHER JONES
Heather Jones is the jack-of-all-trades for the KCFS Team. She wears many hats, but her official titles are Account Manager and Culinary Associate. She graduated from the prestigious Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Sciences in Culinary Arts with a minor in Oenology. She has worked both nationally and internationally gaining corporate experience and knowledge with companies such as the Grand Hyatt Singapore as the Culinary Manager, the Orlando World Center Marriott as the Banquet Sous Chef and Nordstrom’s flagship store here in Seattle as the Sous Chef. She is the glue that binds the KCFS Team together and can often be seen running through the studios creating client proposals, scheduling meetings and planning trips or events while thinking up the next big thing during a food & beverage development session … all in one day! As a creative artist, Heather enjoys photography and painting as well as giving her all on the Zumba dance floor.

ERWIN C. SANTIAGO
California-born but Seattle-raised Erwin C. Santiago is the KCFS Social Media Manager. As a graduate of Seattle University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and a Psychology minor, he is a lively character handling Kathy’s public relations and marketing needs. Erwin’s ability to constantly stay-in-the-know and his skill to keep up with all of the social media outlets make him a very welcomed member of the team. As the only staff member without a culinary background or training (yet a great taste tester!), he keeps his hands in things by organizing and categorizing the 1000+ bottles of liquor and syrups, moving really heavy objects for the rest of the staff, or poking around the kitchen. Outside of work, Erwin admits to being an avid gym/workout junkie and a skilled dancer (you can catch him at local “flash mobs”).

KEITH WALDBAUER
Liquid Kitchen Associate Mixologist Keith Waldbauer travels the world with Kathy teaching the art of mixology – from Abu Dhabi to Egypt as well as all over North America. He has been featured in Imbibe magazine as well as nominated by StarChefs.com for their Rising Star Mixologist award. Keith brings his thirst for all things spirited to his work every day. As co-owner of Liberty Bar in Seattle he knows what it takes to run things smoothly. He is a cocktail geek at heart and loves to explore the history of his craft whenever he can.

JOHN CASEY
John Casey is Kathy’s partner in business and life. He's been "in the biz" for over 30 years: from working as a culinary operations instructor to liquor sales, to front of the house management, to wine stewardship under the acclaimed Kevin Zraly at Windows of the World. John now handles the financials for all Kathy Casey companies, but is also known as Kathy’s personal “taste-tester”! When asked about what he does in his free time, his response is “What time off?!” Truly a renaissance man—he does it all. John's favorite thing to cook is a “glass of red wine” and always has time for cheese and crackers —he's not the chef in the family! But when someone else is cooking, he loves to eat bacon and most pork products. But he eschews pork rinds!

JESSICA DUNCAN
Culinary Associate Jessica Duncan is also the staff Canadian/cupcake aficionado. She brings both her culinary background as a proud graduate of the Seattle Culinary Academy and her artistic input as a trained special effects makeup artist to the Food Studio team. When she isn’t working on the blog or in the kitchen testing recipes, Jess is most likely to be found camped out in front of the oven, waiting for her newest cupcake creation to bake up. In her spare time, she wields words, paint brushes, uses a sewing machine (all with a little dash of wit) and self-admittedly adores comic books. Jessica is the Keeper of the Canadian Trivia, from whether polar bears are a frequent sight, to which province a city belongs to -- although we rarely hear her say ‘eh’!

ANN MANLY
Ann Manly is a Development Associate at Kathy Casey Food Studios. A culinary school graduate, Ann has been with the company from its early days. She is known as the precision recorder of recipes at development sessions for Kathy Casey Food Studios – Liquid Kitchen. Ann is also the in-house copy editor and custom recipe systems coordinator. Her attention to detail is flawless and her precision is crucial to the successful results of developed recipes. Ann is still the woman we call when we need to pull the all-nighters!

CAMEO MCROBERTS
Cameo McRoberts brainstorms with Kathy on all things food and beverage from cocktail ideas to hands-on restaurant training. As a part-time Culinary Associate, she also contributes to our creative media with visual presentations. Cameo’s greatest culinary passion is Mexican cuisine as well as all things green … except green bell peppers! Cameo previously worked as sous chef for Rick Bayless in Chicago’s Frontera Grill. Cameo’s versatility is a great fit for Kathy Casey Food Studios - Liquid Kitchen … as she is the Cameo of all trades!

JILL BENSON
Senior Associate Jill Benson works part-time for Kathy Casey Food Studios on specialty projects. As a graduate of Tulane University with a degree in business management, Jill says that living in the Big Easy during college only solidified her taste for fancy cocktails and fantastic food. After moving back to the Northwest, Jill jumped at the opportunity to work with Kathy and combine her business knowledge with her love for the food industry. Currently, Jill is attending Seattle University and working on obtaining her MBA.