Chef Tom is the managing owner of Summit Pastry Group, a baking and pastry consulting firm dedicated to helping individuals, organizations, and companies achieve their culinary dreams. 

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Chef Tom’s culinary career began at 10 years old when he was enlisted by his grandmother to help make a traditional Italian cookie called Pupa cu l’ova. A cookie resembling an Easter egg basket with a hard-boiled egg baked into it. The process of mixing ingredients, shaping and baking them, then finally decorating them into something his family would enjoy opened Chef Tom’s eyes to the joys of baking – and ultimately helped to kick-start his culinary career.

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Since graduating from the Culinary School of Kendall College with an associate’s degree in Culinary Arts, Tom has spent decades as a Professional Pastry Chef in various settings throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Micronesia. His extensive experience includes work in hotels, chocolate shops, restaurants, resorts, bakeries, retail, catering operations, and teaching Culinary and Pastry Arts for over a decade in higher education settings.

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Chef Tom is a strong proponent of continuing education. Throughout his career, he has taken numerous continuing education courses at prestigious institutions such as The French Pastry School and The Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy. Those courses were taught by the world's leading experts in their respective fields, including Stephane Leroux MOF, Jean-Pierre Wybauw, Frank Michel MOF and Norman Love among others. Chef Tom holds the pastry certification of Certified Executive Pastry Chef through the American Culinary Federation. He also currently holds the Managerial level ServSafe food handling sanitation certificate. 

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Chef Tom loves sharing his knowledge and expertise by helping others achieve their culinary goals and dreams.