Stan Frankenthaler

Stan Frankenthaler is a chef and restauranteur currently serving as Chief Officer of Food & Beverage and Brewing & Strategic Supply at CraftWorks.

After years of being chased out of the kitchens at both his grandmothers' homes in rural New York state and Alabama, young Stan was finally allowed to shell peas and fry chicken... Before long, he was cooking most of the family's dinners, events that often stretched on for hours. Stan says he cannot remember a time when he was not completely enamored with the rituals and beauty of food.

He cooked professionally as a teenager, and earned his way through the University of Georgia with kitchen jobs in Atlanta and Athens, GA. After graduating with a degree in English, Stan applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated first in his class.

Stan moved to Boston in 1984 and found his first position as a poissioner at the Hotel Meridian. A year later, he began a 4 1/2 year stint at Jasper's, rising to the role of Sous Chef, and serving as Head Chef while proprietor Jasper White wrote a cookbook. During that period, Jasper's won a 4-star rating from the Boston Globe, and was inducted into Boston Magazine's "Hall of Fame". Stan left Jasper's in 1989 to tour the wine regions of Europe. When he returned, he took a position at Hamersley's Bistro. At the same time Stan was launching his first independent venture, Choice Catering Company. His top quality prepared foods won rave reviews, including a "Best of Boston" award in 1990 from Boston Magazine. When the opportunity to become a co-owner and chef at The Blue Room presented itself, Stan closed Choice and joined two friends in a restaurant that was to become a major critical success. The Blue Room received enthusiastic reviews from Bon Appetit and Metropolitan Home, and was named one of "America's Best New Restaurants" by Esquire in 1992.

Stan wanted to strike out on his own and develop a restaurant that reflected his passions for elegantly crafted foods, carefully served in a rich environment paired with a wine list of many complimentary offerings to his asian-tinged cuisine. The funding, the concept, and the staff came together in 1994, and Salamander opened its doors in September of that year. Located in an old, renovated ink factory in Cambridge, Salamander offers adventurous foods in a setting filled with creature comforts.

Recognition came almost at once, with exceptional reviews from virtually every Boston area food writer, mentions in all of the food trade magazines, and features in such respected publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Esquire, Metropolitan Home, Art Culinaire, Food & Wine, Food Arts, Harvard Magazine, Bon Appetit and Gourmet. Travel and Leasure called Salamander "the one not to miss", and ZAGAT's Boston survey has ranked Salamander in the Top Ten since the restaurant's very first listing.

In November 2001, Simon and Schuster released Stans first cookbook The Occidental Tourist 130 Asian inspired recipes for the home kitchen.

In 2005 he left the restaurant business and became the Executive Chef and Vice President of Product Innovation for the Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc., the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. In 2012 Stan was honored as MenuMasters Innovator of the Year.

In 2014, he left to become Chief Officer of Food & Beverage at CraftWorks, the food and brewery group located out of Chattanooga, Tennessee, whose brands include Gordon Biersch Brewery, Rock Bottom, Old Chicago Pizza, ChopHouse & Brewery and many others. CraftWorks has over 200 restaurants and employs over 12,000 in 70 locations.

When not in the kitchen, Stan devotes time to charity events, many of them related to hunger relief. Over the years, he has organized and/or participated in fund-raisers for Share Our Strength, The James Beard Foundation, and AIDS Action. He was named to the Board of Overseers of Chefs Collaborative 2000. Locally, he has helped Community Servings, The Greater Table, Rosie's Place and several other health and cultural groups. Salamander, Red Herring, and Beehive also underwrite public radio broadcasting on WGBH and WBUR.