Hue-Chan Karels
Owner & Managing Principal

In 2007, Hue-Chan, encouraged by her supportive husband, John, had the inspiration to make a lifestyle change and depart from her FDA regulatory and compliance consulting practice to start an artisan cookie business.  After years of struggle to find an affordable licensed commercial kitchen, Hue-Chan decided to open her own culinary space.  With some reshaping of her original vision, Open Kitchen became a reality in the fall of 2009.  Hue-Chan and her team have created a truly a unique culinary space providing guests with a culinary retreat… a place to relax, unwind and share in the joy of food, wine, and community.

Doug Cooperman
Culinary Director

Chef Doug, a 1992 graduate of Johnson and Wales University began his culinary career at the prestigious Clam Bake Club of Newport, RI.  Since that time, Chef Doug has found himself as executive chef of private fine dining restaurants, a corporate dining director, catering chef, and chef instructor.

Chef Doug spent 4 years in Andalusia, Spain where he taught culinary arts and wellness classes while studying the cuisines of Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, and Morocco.  Most recently Chef Doug was a culinary instructor at the Culinary Center of Monterey and Art Institute of Washington where he shared his love of the culinary arts with his students and fellow culinarians.

“Food can nurture our body and cooking with friends can feed our soul”.

Christopher Carey
Culinary Instructor

Chef Christopher Carey, joins the Open Kitchen team with years of professional experience under his belt.  Chef Carey is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu of Paris, France, and The French Culinary Institute of New York City.  He is also a graduate of Fordham University, located in New York City, with a Bachelor’s degree in economics.  Christopher’s personal cooking style exemplifies the use of local seasonal ingredients, farmers markets, and ageless cooking techniques.  He is convinced that the best-tasting food is organically and locally grown and harvested in ways that are ecologically sound by people who are taking care of the Earth for future generations.

Christopher’s prior culinary experience includes The Wine Kitchen in Leesburg, the Goodstone Inn and Estate in Middleburg, the Ashby Inn of Paris, VA and the Clifton Inn in Charlottesville.  He has received numerous awards and honors such as a two star review from The Washington Post, been invited to cook at the renowned James Beard House in New York City, featured on an episode of Food Network’s “Country Inns of Virginia,” and honored as one of the “Best Chefs of Washington,” and achieved the DiRona Award.

Katie Reineberg
Events Chef & Lead Culinary Instructor

A Northern Virginia native, Chef Katie Reineberg has years of experience in multiple areas of the local culinary industry, including recreational and professional teaching, catering, and restaurant work. Growing up, Katie always loved to cook (with a great grandfather who was a pastry chef she jokes that food is “in her blood”), but it wasn’t until she took a nutrition course in college at Virginia Tech (where she was studying to be a Journalist) that she considered making food her life.

After earning dual professional degrees Culinary Arts and Culinary Nutrition, from Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina and Providence, Rhode Island, she spent time working in corporate research and development in Boston before moving back to the DC area to teach. Her passion for seasonal, local ingredients is apparent in everything she makes, but her real goal as an instructor is to get students excited about the food we eat and to show people that healthy food can be simple and satisfying.