Our Culinary Team
Sandridge's certified chefs are masters at turning salads, sides, soups, sauces, specialty dishes and custom recipes into consistent center-of-the-plate pleasers. From traditional favorites to on-trend bold flavors, our culinary team makes you look (and taste) good.
Meet our Culinary Research and Development Team
Dan Zakri
Director of Innovation
We develop the best products using the best ingredients to really deliver and perform for our customers." – Chef Dan
Culinary Expertise
With a background that includes a degree from the celebrated Culinary Institute of America, Dan knows what it takes to bring freshness to the consumer. It requires him to use everything he has ever learned as a chef, from choosing exactly the right ingredients to suit the tastes of our customers, to ensuring product gets to its destination in the timeliest way possible. Dan's experience also includes a stint with renowned chef and author of Death by Chocolate, Marcel Desaulniers and author Michael Roizen, MD, YOU, On a Diet. In addition, Dan has extensive food demo experience on TV and radio, making him our resident celebrity chef. But in the kitchen, he's all business, with a commitment to culinary excellence that makes him ideally suited to lead Sandridge's new product development team.A Student of the Industry
Chef Dan stays attuned to the latest innovations in fresh refrigerated foods by continuing his education via the Culinary Institute of America and Research Chefs Association. He also travels overseas annually to work with classically trained European chefs to collaborate and develop world-class products.Outside the Kitchen
When he is not honing a recipe or cooking a new creation, Dan enjoys spending time with his family, playing music and outdoor sporting activities.
Mike Matranga
Process Improvement Manager
"Freshness belongs to the customer." – Chef Mike