Press Release: Chef Mark Valentine

Classically Trained Chef Mark Valentine Appointed Open Table Kitchen Manager

Brings farm-to-table focus to rapidly expanding prepared meals program with healthier meals made from locally-sourced fresh produce

Concord and Maynard, MA (June 14, 2021) – Open Table announced today that classically-trained chef Mark Valentine has been appointed kitchen manager with the goal of bringing a farm-to-table focus to the organization’s rapidly growing prepared meals program. Mark will incorporate an abundance of local fresh produce into his cooking to make healthy delicious meals for Open Table clients.

“I always believe in cooking as fresh and local as possible which goes back to my culinary food education in France,” said Mark Valentine, kitchen manager, Open Table.  “I want to feed people, and I care about my community. Food is a necessity, and everyone should eat food that is healthy, great tasting, and cooked with love.”

Over the next three months, Open Table will double the number of prepared meals it produces from 500 to well over 1000. Open Table partner Aurelia’s Garden will be supplying produce from its Wayland farm to support the prepared meals program. The organization also partners with Gaining Ground of Concord and other local farms, such as Bent Tree Farm, Drumlin Farm, Small Farm and Sienna Farms in Sudbury, to supply fresh local produce.

A professional chef for over 35 years, Mark has cooked in Paris, San Francisco, Nantucket, Portland ME, and Boston. His restaurant experience includes Chez Panisse, Stars Restaurant, and Zuni Cafe. He was also the owner and Executive Chef of Provence Café & Catering and Kitchen to Table Foods.

Mark trained in classical French cuisine at the renowned cooking school La Varenne Ecole Du Cuisine in Paris, France, and is also a graduate of UMass Lowell with a degree in History. He combines his classical training with Asian and Southwestern influences to create a cuisine that is uniquely American and distinctly his own. A food traveler, he has been around the world from Hong Kong to Spain sampling regional cuisines and bringing those flavors and ingredients back into his kitchen. 

“Open Table is experiencing an unprecedented demand for prepared food,” said Jeanine Calabria, executive director, Open Table. “By expanding the production of our prepared meals, we are able to give people a healthy, nutritious and tasty meal as often as three nights a week.”