JOHN LI

Corporate Executive Chef

Although John Li is a corporate executive chef for Kraft Foodservice, you won’t typically find him at his desk. He’s in the Kraft Culinary Centre, hooked into the outside world with a phone line and a laptop, but still very much connected to what’s cooking at Kraft.

As a corporate executive chef, his job demands not only culinary expertise, but business savvy and modern salesmanship. His finesse at balancing these three mandates has earned him respect among his associates and customers.

While working for the Research & Development group at Kraft Foods, he led the charge for new concept and product development. We’ve also learned to trust Chef Li’s intuition; he has an incredible knack for identifying culinary trends, then transforming them into cutting-edge menu ideas for modern foodservice.

Born:  June 7, 1968 (and yes, that means I am really old!)

Home:  Chicago, well, actually the suburbs, but I have not let go of the city yet.

Education:  BS in FoodScience from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.; AAS in Culinary Arts from Kendall College, Evanston, Ill.; MBA in Marketing and Strategy from Northwestern Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Evanston, Ill.

Employment:  Kraft Foods for 15 great years!

1st job in foodservice:  Working as an indentured servant in my uncle’s restaurant in New York, making dumplings, mostly.

Greatest accomplishments:  Somehow managing to have two great and beautiful kids (ages 4 and 2) who run to me when I come home from work or business trips.

Favorite dish to cook at home:  I love peanut butter, marshmallow fluff and bananas on cinnamon-roll bread.

Favorite cookbook:  My favorite is Miami Spice: The New Florida Cuisine (Workman Publishing Company, 1993). I love hot and spicy food.
 
Most rewarding part of my job:  We have the most dedicated and fun staff to work with.
 
The 2 or 3 people from history (living or dead) with whom I would most like to have dinner:  My wife would kill me, but I’d love to have dinner with Charlize Theron, in non Monster makeup; Bruce Lee, so he can teach me how to exercise my mind and kick butt at the same time; and Christopher Walken beacuse he is just so freakin’ cool!

Sound byte:  “I live and breathe my products—that’s why I’m always in the kitchen.”

See what our other chefs are cooking up at Kraft Foodservice.