Dedicated to the finest points of food and artful cuisine, Dean Szablewski is a talented member of the culinary community, and brings his global travels and many rich life experiences to fruition through his food.

Dean credits his time spent with the United States Marine Corps as the foundation for his steadfast dedication to whatever task may be at hand. Dean signed on as a proud Marine in 1985. The Marines afforded chances to travel the globe and gave Dean the opportunity to explore the exotic tastes of Thailand, Cambodia, and Japan, influences that can be found today in Dean’s cuisine.

Chance was on his side when Dean finished his military career, when he met Hermann Schwager in 1992, one of the original opening chefs of the Watergate Hotel. Seeing potential and talent in Dean, as well as his enjoyment of the culinary field, Hermann helped to enroll Dean in the International Culinary Apprenticeship Program in Vienna, Austria. Dean became engrossed in the traditional, rigid world of French and European Classic cuisine, learning the intricate points of fine cuisine many culinary students today yearn for. Graduating in 1996 with honors as the only American who had completed the program at the time, Dean returned to the United States.

Dean went on to work with Joe Santangini as a part of Vail Resorts in Wyoming, and moved on to an offspring company called the Grand Teton Lodge Company as the Executive Sous Chef, from 1998 to 2001. A native of Wyoming, Dean was finally able to return to the mountains of his childhood in the areas surrounding Jackson Hole.

Ready for warmer weather, Dean headed south to the posh world of West Palm Beach, Florida, where the only things outnumbering private yachts are the palm trees. As Rounds Chef, Dean worked under the acclaimed Chef William Fanis at the exclusive Gulfstream Golf Course, rubbing elbows pleasing the palates of the nation’s top CEOs and current and former U.S. Presidents and Politicians. After three seasons at Gulfstream, Dean went on to become Executive Chef of the Delray Beach Yacht Club, filling every culinary whim his members may have.

After two more seasons of the warm sands and surf of West Palm, and having grown tired of splitting his time between Florida and Wyoming, Dean headed North to work with New England Chef Sissy Hicks in the quaint, historic town of Dorset, Vermont in 2002. Owner and Chef of the longest continuously operating Inn in Vermont, Sissy was acclaimed as a top female Chef in publications large and small, from The Dorset Times to Gourmet Magazine.

Dean became the Lead Chef of Aquastar Restaurant at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort and Spa. Looking out over the petite but stunning skyline of Savannah’s Riverstreet, Dean was yet again sought after for his talented, artistic cuisine.

Life would bring him back to Northern New England and to the Rangeley Lakes Area of Maine.  He brings his love of the outdoors and nature with his love for cooking, creating new meals, and running a kitchen to the uniqueness of the Gingerbread House Restaurant.