Culinary Arts Faculty

Chef Marcy Alfonsi has been an instructor at Saint Paul College since 2005. She currently teaches 3rd semester classes: Restaurant operations, Advanced Pastry & Decorating, Advanced Food & Wine, and Classical Buffet. While she likes teaching all of her classes, Advanced Pastry & Decorating is her favorite since she’s worked as a pastry chef at several points in her career - she still loves working with desserts and cakes. Her favorite part about teaching is the interaction with the students. She loves the diversity and all of the unique personalities. Each student brings something new and interesting “to the table”, so to speak.

Chef Alfonsi also enjoys running the College’s restaurant, the CityView Grille, and serving the public. She thinks it's a great "real world" experience for the students - and the customers love the food! She has extensive experience which she brings to the program. She co-owned and ran a restaurant in South Minneapolis from 2001-2004 called Marimar. She served as the working owner, pastry chef, back-of-house manager and just about everything else (including dishwasher) in the time they were open. She says she likes her hours better now!

Chef Alfonsi completed the Culinary Arts program at Saint Paul College in 1998. She was named “Student of the Year” in 1998 for Culinary and served on the College’s Culinary Arts Advisory Board prior to becoming an instructor. She also is a member of "Women Who Really Cook", a Twin-Cities based networking group for women working in all aspects of food.

Chef Nathan Sartain has been a faculty member of the Culinary Arts department at Saint Paul College since 2005. He is currently department chair and teaches commercial cookery, fundamentals of pastry, charcuterie, nutrition, advanced food & wine pairing and functional holistic nutrition. Chef Sartain has an A.O.S. in Culinary Arts from Western Culinary Institute in Portland, OR and did undergraduate work in food science and food systems management, Montana State University.

Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, he honed his skills under noteworthy chefs Eric Stenberg, Rick Bayless, Michel Nischan, Peter Hoffman and Greg Higgins. Chef Sartain was the opening Executive Chef for Montana Ale Works in Bozeman, MT, Executive Sous Chef at the award winning Savory Olive also in Bozeman, and Executive Chef at Aix in Denver, CO. He has worked in all facets of industry from fine dining to catering feature film sets and photo shoots across the American West.

Chef Sartain is passionate about personal nutrition and organic, sustainable fare. He believes chefs have the ability to affect change in the conventional food system by being a conscious consumer, and works that philosophy into his teachings. In April of 2012, Chef Sartain was a nominee for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees Outstanding Educator Award. In his spare time, Sartain is an avid marathon runner and seeks out food-specific volunteer opportunities in the community.

Chef Manfred Krug has been an instructor in the Culinary Arts Department at Saint Paul College since 1986. He enjoys the wide variety of subjects that he teaches - from "breaking down a side of beef to flipping over-easy eggs." He also says there is "never a dull day" as an instructor. His favorite class to teach is Restaurant Operations where the Culinary Arts students run the City View Grille. As part of this experience, menus are changed daily and the students prepare ethnic-themed buffets on Friday's. It gives the students a chance to learn about and prepare a wide variety of foods. The students also benefit from the hands-on restaurant experience of running the City View Grille operations and providing fine dining service.

Chef Krug has received the Silver Medal from the National Restaurant Show in Chicago, and also an award in Fish and Seafood Cookery from the Upper Midwest Hospitality Show in Minneapolis. He is a graduate of the Saint Paul College Culinary Arts Program (1980) and received an additional degree and culinary training at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), Hyde Park New York, AOS Degree 1983. Upon completion of the CIA, he was awarded a European Internship and spent 1 year at the prestigious Park Hotel in Frankfurt Germany. He also received his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Wisconsin Stout in Hospitality Management in 1985.

His favorite part of teaching is seeing his students succeed. Nothing gives him more pleasure than going out and seeing his students working and becoming successful, and having the feeling that he might have played a small role in their success. When he's not working, he enjoys golfing and outdoor activities with his family and friends.

Chef Daniel Vasterling has been an instructor in the Culinary Arts Department at Saint Paul College since 2011. He entered the hospitality industry 36 years ago as a dishwasher. Since that time he has worked in almost every aspect of the hospitality industry and has also taught at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts for several years. Chef Dan is also a frequent guest chef on the Fox 9 Morning News and he brings a culinary arts student to appear with him in the cooking segment.

He received a Degree of Occupational Proficiency in Chef’s Training through 916 Vocational Technical Institute and an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Culinary Arts from Saint Paul College. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Arts Degree with an emphasis on culinary management.

He has won numerous awards for his culinary abilities and humanitarian efforts. Dan is co-founder and former president of the St. Paul Chef’s Association, a chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF). He is a recipient of the ACF Chef of the Year Award and the St. Paul Chef’s Association Chef of the Year Award. He also is an ACF Certified Executive Chef. In 2010 he was elected Educator of the Year by the Minneapolis Chefs Club.

Chef Dan is excited to share the many facets of his culinary knowledge. He understands how the kitchen can be intimidating to some. He therefore is eager to put those fears to rest by teaching foundational principles and various techniques to students desiring to become chefs, so that they may enjoy the fruits of their labor, as well as their time spent preparing the meal.