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Growing up in Vail, Colorado, Museum Kitchen Manager, Simone Guidry, enjoyed making and sharing meals with loved ones. Every summer while visiting family in Louisiana, she learned a new recipe to bring back home to Colorado. At 15, she got a job with a local caterer in Ft. Collins and was introduced to food prep work and catering functions. Shortly after working there, she knew she had to go to culinary school. Simone knew she wanted to attend Johnson & Wales University and worked diligently to fund her schooling by completing scholarships, selling alpacas, and taking out loans. Simone received an Associates in Applied Science in Culinary Arts and Bachelor of Science in Foodservice Management with Concentration in International Hospitality. While pursuing these degrees, Simone worked for Chef Elise Wiggins at Panzano in Hotel Monaco. There she learned the best buffet presentation skills and pasta recipes, as well as the importance and power of women in the kitchen. Elise was also rooted in Southern Louisiana, which helped Simone utilize, appreciate, and expand on experiences cooking with family down South.

After this, Simone’s mentor pushed her to apply to Ritz-Cartlon, Denver where she was hired as a Cook IV and worked her way up to Chef de Partie. Simone ran the garde manger kitchen there until she decided to transfer to Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. There she worked as Chef de Partie in Seven Restaurant, In-Room Dining, Golf Course, Club Level, Pool and Beach outlets, buffets, cocktail receptions and plated dinners. The mountains and her family brought her back home to Colorado where Simone went to Yoga Teacher Training School. It was not long before she missed the kitchen and found a part-time cook position here at the Museum. Slowly, Simone worked her way up to kitchen manager of the Museum.

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Jorge Posada is the Executive Sous Chef at the Museum of Nature and Science. He was born in Durango Mexico, but grew up in El Monte California. It is a city in Los Angeles County that lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of LA. This is where he spent half of his life before coming to Colorado in 2001. Growing up in California exposed Jorge to different people, cultures and of course food.

In 2004 Jorge began his career in the food service industry as a dishwasher for a small retirement community. This is where he realized that a profession as a chef would be something that could carry him a long way. His curiosity and artistic ability fueled the fire needed to motivate him to keep learning and growing within the company. He quickly moved into a prep cook role while continuing to learn from different mentors and colleagues. Before he knew it, he was offered a line cook position. This was not enough for him. He wanted more, so he began to search for other places where he could showcase his newly acquired skill while continuing to learn and evolve.

In 2009 he was offered a job as a prep cook for a much larger retirement community in Highlands Ranch Colorado. This community served about five hundred residents when he first started. By the time he left, the community had about three thousand residents. Within the community there was two fine dining restaurants, a café, a bistro, a deli, and a tavern. Which exposed him to even more cuisine, cooking techniques, and many other aspects of the food service industry before leaving in 2017.

In 2018 he started working for a small chain of breakfast restaurants as a sous chef, but had every intention of moving up and eventually becoming a General Manager. He was the first employee to go from sous chef to GM. His love for food and passion for developing people has provided and successful and rewarding career in the hospitality industry. He hasn’t forgotten those who helped him along the way and hopes that he makes a difference in someone’s career, just like his mentors did for him.

Jorge started his journey with DMNS in March 2023, and though he hasn’t been here that long, he plans on contributing to the success of the organization in any way possible for many years to come.

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Kimberly Brown became pastry chef at the Museum in 2019 and prides herself on successfully creating a Daily Food Service dessert program that provides many sweet options to Museum guests while also creating revenue for the Museum. Kimberly began her journey at the Museum as an apprentice in 2015, working on both savory and sweet dishes. In 2016 Kimberly assisted in the Chocolate Shop at the Museum’s “Chocolate: The Exhibition” exhibition where she was able to connect with guests and share her love of baking even more. Kimberly attended the American Culinary Federation, Colorado Chefs Association and graduated as a Certified Sous Chef in 2017. She gained experience while working under Christopher Szczeniowski as an assistant. This is where Kimberly learned all of her pastry skills that she generously shares with Museum guests every day.

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I've always enjoyed cooking even from a young age. I grew up in a small town in Iowa with my parents and two older sisters. From there I graduated from the Culinary Arts Program at Iowa Central Community College. During my time at ICCC, I studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. That experience expanded my love of travel and solidified my interest in making food as my career. I moved to Colorado shortly after graduation and quickly fell in love with the outdoors and my Siberian Husky, Koda. I also have two amazing nephews that I enjoy visiting as often as possible. In my spare time I enjoy hiking, live music, arts and crafts and spending time with Koda as well as my friends and family.