Chef Lawrence La Castra joined the Johnson & Wales University culinary faculty in 1997 and brought with him a unique international experience. After graduating from Lansdowne College of Culinary Arts in Bournemouth, England with a degree in basic cookery, he worked as an executive chef for some of Bermuda's finest hotels and restaurants and was also a personal chef for celebrity Burt Reynolds and Dr. Wang of Wang labs. An active member of the Cookery and Food Association in England, Chef La Castra has served as Faculty Council representative for 11 years and has conducted training sessions for the university on cruise lines and in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Singapore and Thailand. In 1999 he was awarded the “Faculty of the Year” award from the university.