Desiree Dorwart

Owner/VP of Operations

Desiree grew up in the restaurant business. Her parents owned the Norseman Restaurant in Hawley, MN. So, at a very young age, Desiree was always in the kitchen helping out the chef at the restaurant. When she graduated from college with her degree in psychology she decided she wanted more. She was working at a restaurant in Fargo when the chef suggested she go to culinary school. She opted to go to the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont for her education in the culinary arts.

Desiree landed an internship with Philip Dorwart at Table of Contents Restaurant in Minneapolis and she never looked back. After finishing her internship with Philip, she moved to the renowned Lucia’s Restaurant in Uptown Minneapolis. She manned the ranges at Lucia’s for four years, taking in all of the knowledge and experience she could from the staff and Lucia Watson. In 2001 Desiree decided it was time for a change of pace and accepted a teaching position at The Art Institutes of Minneapolis. At A.I. she found herself challenged daily in helping to mold the next generation of chefs and managers. She ended her tenure at A.I. in 2014 to focus solely on Create Catering & The Dining Studio.