Culinary Faculty
Jan Bandula
Jan Bandula, C.M.P.C., is Baltimore International College's Senior Pastry Chef Instructor, and one of only 13 certified Master Pastry Chefs in the United States.
A native of Poland, Chef Bandula began study culinary arts at the age of 14, and worked in Vienna, Austria before coming to the U.S. in 1974.
Before he became an instructor at BIC, Chef Bandula served as executive pastry chef at the Cross Keys Hotel, the Baltimore Hilton Hotel, and the Pimlico Hotel, all in Baltimore, Maryland. He has created specialty desserts for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, made a birthday cake for former Maryland Governor William Schaefer, and created a welcome cake for the Baltimore visit of Pope John Paul II.
Chef Bandula has been honored by the Baltimore Culinary Salon, the American Culinary Federation (ACF), and the ACF's Judge's Panel. He was named Chef of the Year by the ACF Greater Baltimore Chapter in 1988 and 2004, and served as Chapter President from 1998 to 2002. Since 2002, he has held the position of Chairman of the Board for the ACF Greater Baltimore Chapter, and was recently featured in the Baltimore Sun newspaper's "Inspiring Minds" series about inspirational college instructors.
Janet Powell Canfield
Janet Powell Canfield, C.C.C., is the Director of Practicum, Service Learning and Evening Programs at Baltimore International College. Canfield is a certified Chef de Cuisine with over eighteen years of experience in fine dining, corporate dining, hotels and education. Canfield earned her A.O.S. from The Culinary Institute of America in New York and then her Bachelor of Science from Skidmore College.
She was previously a full-time chef instructor at BIC from October 1997 through February 2000, where she was selected to go to BIC’s Park Hotel in Ireland. While there, Canfield designed new menus for the restaurant and pub, hired and trained staff, instructed courses, acted as Purchasing Manager for facility and budget personnel and planned weddings, golf tournaments, and other special events booked through the school.
In 2005, The Art Institute of Atlanta awarded Canfield the Faculty Award for Contributing to Student Success. She is also a Certified ServSafe Instructor.
William Carlile
William Carlile is a Pastry Chef Instructor at Baltimore International College.
Chef Carlile received his baking certificate from the American Culinary Federation, and his Associate of Applied Science in Baking and Pastry from Baltimore International College.
Chef Carlile has over 17 years of experience as a Pastry Chef in the culinary industry. Throughout his career, he has worked as an assistant pastry chef, head cake finisher, and eventually pastry chef at many establishments in both Baltimore and Massachusetts. In Baltimore, Chef Carlile was pastry chef and bakery manager for Donna's Bakery. He was also the pastry chef and manager at Bakery on the Common and Restaurant Associates: Harvard Business School, both located in Massachusetts.
Chef Carlile lives in Germantown, Maryland.
James Crawford
James Crawford is a Chef Instructor at the BIC Virginia Park Campus in Ireland.
Chef Crawford is an English chef who has been working in Ireland for the last 13 years. Crawford started cooking fast food at the age of 14 in a snooker club, and then trained at Westminster Catering College for three years.
He went on to work in a four-star deluxe hotel, progressing from second commis to junior sous chef in the three years spent there. He continued to Restaurant Marco Pierre White in London before moving to Barberstown Castle in Ireland as sous chef. Other jobs include head chef at the fine dining restaurant at the five-star Radisson SAS Hotel in Stillorgan, head chef of a well-known Italian restaurant, executive sous chef at Harvey Nichols, executive chef of Tulfarris Hotel and Golf Resort, and most recently he worked as executive chef of The Athenaeum House Hotel in Waterford.
Crawford won the Chef of the Year award from Choice Hotel Group in 2003. Having spent the best part of 22 years in and around the hospitality industry, he joined BIC feeling that it was time to give something back. Crawford believes working in The Park Hotel in Cavan will be an interesting and exiting challenge.
Eric Frauwirth
Eric Frauwirth, M.Ed., CHE, is an Adjunct Associate Professor/Chef Instructor and the Dean of Culinary and Culinary Management at Baltimore International College. He earned his AOS in Baking & Pastry Arts, BS in Foodservice Management, BS in Foodservice Education and Masters Degree in Educational Computing & Technology Leadership from Johnson & Wales University. He is presently pursuing his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at Argosy University and has been certified by the American Hotel & Lodging Association as a Certified Hospitality Educator.
Mr. Frauwirth’s career has taken him to the four corners of the country for jobs in the culinary industry and higher education. His pastry background brought him to bakeries in places such as Naples, Florida and the world famous Sun Valley Resort; and his educational posting have included New York Institute of Technology, California School of Culinary Arts (Pasadena) and Johnson & Wales University (North Miami). Recent administrative positions have included Director of The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California-Sunnyvale and Dean of Students at Broadview University.
A passion for sustainability in foodservice and farm-to-table menus are on the forefront of Mr. Frauwirth’s initiatives. In a previous position, he partnered his culinary program with Earth Box and The Growing Connection to raise money and awareness for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Rich Hoffman
Rich Hoffman, World Certified Chef (WCC), Certified Executive Chef (CEC), and Certified Culinary Administrator (CCA), is a Chef Instructor at Baltimore International College School of Culinary Arts.
Although he started his culinary career in Ellicott City, Maryland, Chef Hoffman graduated from the Southeast Institute of Culinary Arts in St. Augustine, Florida. He then entered into a three-year apprenticeship at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.
Throughout his 20 years of experience, Chef Hoffman has worked at hotels, resorts, restaurants and country clubs in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Florida. During this time, he has worked with 15 Certified Master Chefs or Certified Master Pastry Chefs. He was the executive chef at the four-diamond Bavarian Inn in West Virginia, and at both the Trapeze Restaurant and the Turf Valley Resort in Maryland. He was also the executive sous chef at the Baltimore Country Club.
Chef Hoffman has won the Maryland Rockfish Competition twice, and won Best Of Show at the ACF Nations Capital Competition. He is also a 16-time medalist in various ACF-sanctioned competitions, and was accepted to try out for the USA culinary Olympic team.
Melissa Hopkins
Melissa Hopkins is the Purchasing Manager at Baltimore International College. She oversees BIC's purchasing classes.
Chef Hopkins graduated from Baltimore International College in 1991 with an associate degree in cooking. She also earned a liberal arts associate degree from Morrisville Agriculture and Technology School in Morrisville, New York.
She started her career while attending BIC, working in the delicatessen at the Tremont Plaza Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. She later took on the positions of restaurant cook, assistant restaurant manager, catering deli manager, kitchen manager, and was eventually promoted to purchasing manager. She has also worked for the Hunt Valley Marriott and the Valley Country Club, both in Maryland. In 2004, Chef Hopkins joined the BIC faculty.
Hopkins is an active member of the American Culinary Federation, as well as a member of the American Purchasing Society.
Graeme O'Toole
Graeme O’Toole is the General Manager of the Park Hotel in Ireland.
O'Toole attended St. Michels School and North Herts College, both in Ireland, where he earned a BTEC National Diploma in Business (associates degree), a BTEC General Higher National Diploma in Business (bachelors degree), and a Postgraduate Foundation Diploma in Management Studies (masters degree).
Throughout his career he has led the management of many high-profile, five-star hotels in Ireland and England.
Michael Volpe
Michael Volpe, C.E.P.C., is a Pastry Chef Instructor at Baltimore International College. He is a CIA-Hyde Park graduate with extensive professional experience. Chef Volpe was previously the Executive Pastry Chef at Indiana Live! Casino and oversaw the entire pastry operation.
Prior to going to Indiana, Chef Volpe worked as a pastry chef at Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ. Chef Volpe’s earlier working experiences have led him to work at Café Munding, a traditional pastry shop in Innsbruck, Austria, and at the upscale and world-renowned Payard Patisserie & Bistro in New York City. One of Chef Volpe’s first professional experiences was as pastry chef of Clipper Cruise Lines, a 150-passenger cruise ship that traveled the East and West Coasts of the United States with several other regular trips throughout the Caribbean and South America.
Most recently, Chef Volpe advanced his career and skills by earning the title of Certified Executive Pastry Chef, issued by the ACF in the summer of 2008 and has currently become an ACF test evaluator for practical examinations. Chef Volpe has won numerous awards including a bronze medal in the ACF pastry mystery basket category in 2009, a gold medal for a chocolate showpiece and a silver medal for a special occasion cake at the Salon of Culinary Art in New York City in 2008. In 2007 he was awarded Third Place at the Cacao Noel Pastry Exhibition in Philadelphia and was a Finalist in the US Pastry Competition in New York City. Chef Volpe is continuously working on upgrading his certifications and competition experience and one day hopes to compete at an international level.
Michael Wagner
Chef Michael Wagner, C.E.C., is the Director of Savory at Baltimore International College. He joined BIC from Howard Community College in Columbia, MD, where he was an Instructor for the Hospitality and Culinary Arts program.
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America with a wealth of experience, Chef Wagner took on the role as Chef Instructor at Baltimore International College.
Chef Wagner has received numerous recognitions throughout his career. He placed third at the Chesapeake Chef’s Challenge (Baltimore, MD, 2006), garnered the silver medal at the New York at Delhi (SUNY) Chef’s Challenge in 2004 and 2005, and won Chef of the Year from the Academy of Travel, Tourism & Hospitality in 2004.
Chef Wagners’ additional achievements include the Spectrums Exemplar Award from Maryland Hospitality Education Foundation in 2002, the Chefs 2000 Award from Outstanding Chef of North America in 1997, as well as numerous medals/recognitions for national competitions from the American Culinary Federation.
Currently, Chef Wagner works as the Garde Manger Chef at Baltimore International College in Baltimore, Maryland.
Eric Yeager
Eric Yeager, C.E.C., has been a Chef Instructor at Baltimore International College since February 2009. He began his career at BIC as an adjunct instructor teaching Classical and International cuisines in our certificate program while working as the Executive Chef for Legg Mason Baltimore. Chef Yeager was asked to join the faculty full time in September of 2009 and has taught a number of classes since including, culinary fundamentals, culinary skills, classical cuisine, and international cuisine and has acted as instructor and Executive Chef of our Bay Atlantic Club restaurant.
A graduate of Johnson & Wales University, Chef Yeager combines his Bachelors of Science degree in Culinary Arts and over 20 years of restaurant experience, to educate our future professionals with a terrific balance of both culinary education and culinary experience. Beginning his culinary career right here in Baltimore’s Little Italy at the age of 14, Chef Yeager has worked up and down the east coast most notably as Executive Chef at the four star, four diamond, AAAHC and Zagat rated, award winning, Templeton’s restaurant in the New Haven Hotel at Yale University’s historic New Haven campus. After 12 years in New England, Chef Yeager returned to the Baltimore area and quickly revitalized one of Carroll County’s most regarded fine dining restaurants as Executive Chef at Baldwin’s Station, in historic Sykesville, Maryland.
Chef Yeager is an active member of the faculty government serving on many faculty committees and as acting Co-Chair of the Faculty Senate.
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