Chef Ben Page

Schneider's Assistant Wine Manager, Ben Page, began his chef career shortly after graduating from high school. He took a year off before deciding to attend Framingham State College in Massachusetts. He worked for Legal Seafood during that time as a cook, which led him to enroll at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Upon leaving Framingham for CIA, Ben was thrust into the intense course work. His focus at CIA was on general culinary studies.

There are two things Ben came to appreciate while attending CIA. One is wine – a course offered at CIA exposed Ben to wines from around the world and expanded his palate to things he had not encountered before. Ben also learned to appreciate a young woman who would eventually become his wife, Amanda. They met in a gastronomy class, working on a group presentation where Ben charmed Amanda with his sense of humor and light-hearted wit.

Upon completion of his course work at CIA in the fall of 2004, Ben graduated with a culinary associate’s degree and returned to Legal Seafood. Being a native New Englander, Ben loved working with seafood, and his training at CIA had given him a greater appreciation for the culinary art. However, Ben and Amanda packed up the car, said good-bye to New England, and they left for Washington, DC. Ben spent two years developing his craft, working for Legal Seafood in the management program, overseeing both wine and food operations in the restaurant. During those two years, he also moonlighted as a wine sales associate at Best Cellars.

“Working at Best Cellars was a good transition,” said Ben, into the next phase of his career. He enjoyed selling wine, working with customers and expanding his own knowledge of wine. After two years with Legal Seafood, Ben decided to leave the restaurant world and pursue a full-time career in wine sales. While the art of preparing food was still his passion, Ben decided to cook for and family instead of paying customers.

In the fall of 2006, Ben transitioned from Legal Seafood to Schneider’s as a wine sales associate. This would be his first and only job in DC. He enjoys the atmosphere as well as the way Schneider’s works – assisting customers and helping to expand their palates, exposing his clients to wines of smaller production and high quality. In December 2007, Ben was promoted to Assistant Wine Manager.

Ben says that he truly enjoys working at Schneider’s. “Schneider’s is a great family-owned and operated business, much like those back home on the Cape – as opposed to the corporate world.” He enjoys his coworkers and values their professional opinions. He also commented that the hours are much more conducive to better quality of life than restaurants. He is able to study wine, focusing on regions, history, varietals and food and wine pairings.

Even though he is no longer cooking as a profession, Ben still enjoys preparing food for family and friends. In that regard, Ben says, “The meals I enjoy preparing most are for people who are important to me. It makes the meal more special when it is for people I really care about.”

When asked what his favorite techniques are for cooking, Ben replied, “Receiving a fry-o-later as a wedding gift was one the best things I could ask for – frying food and being able to do it in your own home is incredible – you can make homemade onion rings, fried shrimp, fish, and fried veggies.” In addition, he remarks that “Anything with bacon is magical and if you add garlic, it’s celestial!”

In closing, Ben’s overriding theme in cooking can be summed up with the following statement: “No matter what ingredient you are shopping for, be selective – pick the pieces that YOU want – especially with meats and fish.”