Joe Labombarda

Joe Labombarda has been in the culinary industry for close to 30 years. As a first-generation Italian American, amazing food with the freshest ingredients is a part of his DNA. The passion for great food came at a very young age. A graduate from Baltimore International Culinary College. Joe began his career in fine dining restaurants, learning his craft from well respected culinarians in New York City & New Jersey. Joe was the sous chef at Serenade in New Jersey, which was awarded the Robert Mondavi inaugural restaurant award for best restaurant in the east. The award included a dinner with Robert Mondavi and his wife.

After years working in restaurants Chef Joe joined Hilton Hotels corporation at the Hilton Short Hills New Jersey. At the time this was the only AAA Five Diamond in the state. Joe held almost every culinary management position within the kitchen. Some of the honorary events at his time at the Hilton Short Hills was a wine dinner with Julia Child as well as Lidia Bastianich, and countless high profile celebrity events.

Chef Joe joined Compass Group in 2000 working with Restaurant Associates in New York City. In his 13 years with RA, Joe worked at financial firms, museums, and entertainment venues and served as the regional chef for Google foodservice for 7 years.

Chef Joe joined Chartwells Higher Education 9 years ago and served in numerous leadership roles both on the east and west coast. Currently Joe provides his culinary leadership and innovation as the Senior Vice President of Culinary for the organization. His focus is on providing the best foodservice to his clients, recruiting the best culinary talent, and continuing to be leaders in innovation in the higher education foodservice market.