Our Team
The kitchen is the heart and soul of community.
Hue-Chan Karels
Chef & Owner of Open Kitchen
Hue-Chan Karels is Chef-Owner of Open Kitchen, a unique culinary concept that celebrates the kitchen as the center of sensory pleasure, healthy living, community, learning and creativity. Hue-Chan’s passion for the culinary arts is only surpassed by her desire to bring people together through shared food experiences and share her knowledge and recipes for people to enjoy cooking and create healthy and delicious meals at home.
In 2007, Hue-Chan Karels had the inspiration to make a lifestyle change from her FDA regulatory and compliance consulting practice. She started an artisan cookie business and, within two and a half years, this had grown into Open Kitchen’s unique, multi-purpose space. A decade later, Hue-Chan continues to reimagine Open Kitchen, always finding new, creative ways to build and connect community through the celebration of great food.
"Open Kitchen catered a surprise milestone birthday party for my wife. Hue-Chan was helpful and professional - and appreciably discreet during the planning process. She made helpful menu and serving suggestions based on her experience. She scouted the venue to assess the setup and preparation spaces. Once I made the decision to go with Open Kitchen and made menu selections, I didn’t have to worry at all about the food portion of the party. It was handled. The food was creative and delicious and the staff was great. I got many compliments on the catering. I highly recommend Hue-Chan and Open Kitchen - they are a wonderful resource for Santa Fe."
Scott Stokoe
Operations Team
Ryan Knowles
Operations Manager
Ryan joined the Washington D.C. Metro Open Kitchen team in 2010. He now joins our team in Santa Fe bringing with him his expertise in marketing and operational activities.
Erica Tai
Chef de Cuisine
As a young chef originated from Taiwan, who’s lived in Hawaii and now New Mexico, Erica has been nourished by rich cultural landscapes and talented mentors. With a great passion in food and culinary arts, Erica has also achieved a Registered Dietitian License in 2020 and now pursuing a Master of Science in Nutrition at the University of New Mexico. Open Kitchen is proud to have this talented chef with expertise in nutrition and culinary arts to create delicious and healthy meals for our guests!
Strategic Consulting Team
Hue-Chan Karels
Principal
Hue-Chan has a Master of Science in Organization Development from American University. She combines her passion for food with her over 20-year successful career in quality system management consulting. She partners with organizations to create impactful and meaningful ways to build high-performance teams, develop strategic leaders, and cultivate organization effectiveness through the process of cooking and celebration of foods.
Kathleen Mathai
Lead
Kathleen Mathai is a seasoned executive management consultant with over 20 years’ professional experience assisting Fortune 100 organizations in highly competitive industries, including healthcare, energy, and education to plan and execute business strategy, merger and acquisitions, and operational transformations. Her areas of expertise include change management, program management, operational improvement methodologies, executive coaching, facilitation, and training design and execution. Kathleen is also on the Board of Directors of Maryland Federation of Art, an international non-profit that promotes the work of living artists.
Kathleen Mathai is a seasoned executive management consultant with over 20 years’ professional experience assisting Fortune 100 organizations in highly competitive industries, including healthcare, energy, and education to plan and execute business strategy, merger and acquisitions, and operational transformations. Her areas of expertise include change management, program management, operational improvement methodologies, executive coaching, facilitation, and training design and execution. Kathleen is also on the Board of Directors of Maryland Federation of Art, an international non-profit that promotes the work of living artists.
Kathleen Mathai
Lead
Culinary Team
Open Kitchen is proud to recruit and train a team of culinary professionals with degrees from the Santa Fe Community College. Our Culinary Team takes great care and pride to create outstanding cooking and dinning experiences for guests and welcome the opportunity to share their culinary knowledge with guests.
Quality & Safety are our priorities!
