Biography ~ Chef Joseph McKenna

Joseph McKenna CMPC
Executive Chef / Bakery
Wegmans Food Markets Inc.

Chef Joseph McKenna is a Certified Master Pastry Chef and Executive Chef for the Bakery Division of Wegmans Food Markets Inc. in Rochester, NY.
Since graduating from The Culinary Institute of America in 1977, Chef McKenna has worked in different capacities for various restaurants, country clubs and major hotel chains, such as Fairmont Hotels, Westin Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Adams Mark Hotels, and Omni Hotels. In 1989, he returned to his alma mater as a pastry chef instructor and taught classes in the Baking and Pastry Arts Program for fourteen years, before joining Wegmans Food Markets Inc. in 2003.

Chef McKenna has long competed in Culinary Competitions on the national and international levels, earning numerous American Culinary Federation gold medals, as well as gold and silver medals at The International Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany, in 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996. He received a perfect score for his pastry display at the 1992 Culinary Olympics, as a member of Team USA. In 2000, he captained a three-man team that earned third place at the National Pastry Team Championship in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Chef McKenna was team coach for the faculty team of The Culinary Institute of America that participated in The Culinary Olympics 2000, in Erfurt, Germany, where the team was awarded the highest gold medal score in the pastry category, among all other regional teams.

Other honors include being voted Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year at the CIA in 1993 and he was the recipient of The American Culinary Federations Crystal Chef Award, for receiving the highest score during the 1993 Master Chef Examination. He is one of only four pastry chefs in the U.S. to have successfully completed the Master Pastry Chef Examination that is administered by The ACF.

Chef Joe Mckeena’s other team members from left to right, Janine, Dee, and Liz. Bakery Manager Nick Tassynot is not in photo