Chef Gil Zentgraf

Gil Zentgraf grew up in a family of good cooks. His grandfather, Will Davis, owned and operated a seafood restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland. Gil’s mother made and decorated Party cakes. As time passed, Mr. Davis opened a catering business, where Gil got his first taste of work in a professional kitchen.

During high school, Gil became a dirty, Anti-war hippy until such time that he and his friends killed a bottle of tequila and joined the Navy. Gil asked for entry to Cooks school, but the needs of the Navy came first and the Navy made him an Electronics Technician. He served on the HW Gilmore(AS18) and received a Meritoriuos Unit Citation. He also received a Good Conduct medal, and was Honorably Discharged.

While in the Navy, and even after, in civilian life, Gil always cooked for the parties and functions held by his companions. He always loved having people enjoy the food that he made. He liked the challenge of feeding large groups, great food on a budget.

At age 35, Gil barely won an argument with 15 Thousand volts while doing a job for General Electric. He decided then, that he should go do the thing that he had always loved. He found a job as a sandwich maker, and enrolled in culinary school.

Gil graduated 2nd in his class from Baltimore Culinary College, or BICAI, as it was then known. He has been working in the culinary field for 20 years at hotels and restaurants in central PA and Maryland. He opened his own catering firm, About You Catering, in 2000.

In 2005, Gil joined the team at the Lafayette Inn in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to enhance the Inn’s catering ability. Eventually, he moved to the position of Executive Chef. That move was instrumental to the Inn being awarded 2006 Restaurant of the Year by the Virginia Winery Association.