Louisiana native Joel Dondis is a professionally trained chef and serial entrepreneur. He first fell in love with food and cooking at a young age and later went on to study at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Following graduation, Joel traveled to Europe to practice at the Michelin-rated Schloss Hotel and Restaurant Gargantua in Frankfurt, Germany.  After living in Europe and beginning a crawfish exporting business, he moved back to Louisiana and next worked as a Sous Chef at Emeril’s for three-years before founding Joel’s Grand Cuisine, Inc, now called Joel Catering and Event Planning. Joel opened James Beard Award winning La Petite Grocery in 2004, in 2006 Joel opened Sucre -- a dessert shop now arguably synonymous with the city of New Orleans itself -- and in 2007, Joel unveiled a seafood restaurant, Grand Isle. Today, Joel continues to live Uptown New Orleans with his wife, daughter, and dog.