Chef Kevin Nashan grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and worked at his family restaurant La Tertulia. Kevin graduated from college at St. Louis University with a marketing and political science degree. Kevin then went on to graduate from the Culinary University of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

Kevin took the trash out at Martin Berasategui (Lasarte, Spain), Le Francais (Wheeling, Illinois), Commander’s Palace (New Orleans, La.), and Restaurant Daniel (New York, N.Y.). He also staged at El Bulli (Rosas, Spain) and George Blanc (Vonnas, France).

With his wife, Mina, and brother, Chris Nashan, Kevin owns and operates five restaurants in St. Louis and Tulsa. Sidney Street Café (18 years, St. Louis), Peacemaker Lobster & Crab (8 years, St. Louis), 4 Hands Brewery (5 years, St. Louis), Peacemaker Lobster & Crab (4 years, Tulsa), and La Tertulia (1+ years, Tulsa).

Kevin won a James Beard award for Best Chef Midwest in 2017 at Sidney Street Café. Kevin and his team was featured recently in Art Culinaire (Issue 139). He has cooked for President Barack Obama.

Kevin lives in both St. Louis and Tulsa with his wife of 20 years, Mina, and two boys, Max Nashan (13) and Miles Nashan (11).

Known to friends and colleagues as “Moose,” Chef Jonathan Moosmiller joined the Shangri-La Resort team in August 2021 as Executive Director of Food and Beverage after nine years at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, where he was Director of Food and Beverage Operations.

With honors including service as president of the American Master Chef’s Order, Jonathan’s training and professional accomplishments are extraordinary. After receiving his degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, he studied under the famed Chef Roger Verge at Moulin de Mougins in Mougins, France prior to completing three additional degree certifications from Club Management Association of America (CMAA). He is an American Culinary Federation Certified Master Chef and a member of the American Academy of Chefs (AAC), the highest honor society of the American Culinary Federation.

Jonathan began his culinary career as Sous Chef at Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York, before his move to Genesee Valley Club in Rochester, New York, where he served as Executive Chef for two years. He spent nine years at  Southern Hills prior to joining the team at Shangri-La Resort as Executive Director of Food and Beverage. He and his wife Jessica have two sons, John Paul and Jude, and a daughter, Guiliana.

Back by popular demand, Chef Darren McGrady returns for the Distinguished Chef Series after his appearance as one of the chefs during the 2021-22 event. He was chef to Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales, and her sons William and Harry, and has cooked for U.S. presidents. He is the owner of Eating Royally Catering in Dallas where he is an author, culinary consultant, event planner and a public speaker.

McGrady trained at The Savoy Hotel in London before moving to Buckingham Palace where, for 11 years, he cooked for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and their guests, including foreign heads of state such as U.S. presidents Ford, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. In 1993 he became private chef for Princess Diana.

In 1998, McGrady moved to the United States and became the first private chef invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York. He is the author of two cookbooks, “Eating Royally: Recipes & Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen” and “The Royal Chef at Home: Easy Seasonal Entertaining.”

McGrady's first experience with OSU was when his daughter, Lexie, recent marketing graduate of Spears Business, started touring college campuses as a high school senior. She chose OSU and now her brother, Harry, will be following in her footsteps as a freshman during the 2022-23 school year.

Long before I put on a professional apron, my maternal grandmother, Lorenza (Lencha) Diaz, had a huge impact on how I thought about food. From her kitchen in El Paso, Texas, my hometown, came the most incredible aromas always coupled with her love. It was because of her influence and that of my mother, also an excellent cook, that I learned to appreciate good food.

I got my first position in a white tablecloth kitchen, a Northern Italian Ristorante, in 1986 after bouncing around in one kitchen or another of varying quality. I set a goal for myself of not leaving until I had mastered every station, including prep, and had earned the sous chef position. After five years I got the coveted Italian flags that the sous chefs wore and my name embroidered on my chef coats.

I have cooked for four U.S. Presidents and Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico, as well as numerous dignitaries and celebrities. I have been featured on CNN as well as several Food Network shows such as Road Bros, State Plate, Twice as Good and a few other programs. For 11 years, I ran the Culinary Arts program at Santa Fe Community College.

More recently, I teach culinary arts and New Mexico history at a charter school in Santa Fe. I  own an eponymous catering company and I also do private chef  work, and I am a graduate student with courses in progress towards a master's degree in sustainable food systems.