Grand Victoria’s Keenan an ECC Visiting Chef

Submitted by ECC

Glenn Keenan, executive chef at Elgin’s Grand Victoria Casino, will open the 2011-2012 Distinguished Visiting Chef Dinner Series at Elgin Community College on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

The dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Culinary Arts Center’s Spartan Terrace Restaurant, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.

Keenan became one of the country’s youngest casino executives at age 27 when he was hired by Grand Victoria Casino in 2010. The Philadelphia native holds degrees in culinary arts and food service management from Johnson and Wales University, Providence, R.I.

He honed his culinary chops working in restaurants like Todd English’s Tuscany, Stephen Starr’s Pod, and Mill’s Tavern — Rhode Island’s only four-star and James Beard Foundation Award-winning restaurant. In California, he was Chef de Cuisine at the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs and was in charge of a 325-room hotel while managing four food outlets and seven banquet rooms.

As part of the Visiting Chef Dinner Series, Keenan will spend the day lecturing and working with students of the college’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Program to prepare the evening’s meal. Tickets for the four-course dinner, which will include wine, are $60 per person and can be purchased by calling the ECC box office at (847) 622-0300.

For information about culinary events at ECC, call (847) 214-7382 or visit elgin.edu/spartanterrace.