Thomas Vaccaro

Certified Executive Pastry Chef/Certified Master Baker

Chef Vaccaro is responsible for the development and preparation of the desserts for Grey Oaks CC.  Grey Oaks is a Platinum Country Club featuring a fine dining, and casual restaurants, banquet and catering facilities, and hosts many special occasion events. Chef Vaccaro also is a highly regarded consultant focused on new product innovation, food styling, process improvement, training, and development. He is highly regarded for his executive coaching in persistence, leadership, and empowerment. Known for his vision and ingenuity, Chef Vaccaro facilitates innovation at the intersection of savory and sweet cookery, leveraging his deep mastery of technique to foster new approaches to creativity. Clients include major food manufacturers, retail restaurants, food processors, and food-related non-profit organizations.

 Chef Vaccaro is the past Dean for Baking & Pastry at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) which included oversight of curriculum, food and quality of instruction, identifying new faculty, and fostering student development. Chef Vaccaro served as the General Manager of the highly acclaimed award-winning Apple-Pie Bakery Café for 15 years and developed the new highly acclaimed award winning desserts at the CIA-Bocuse Restaurants. While at the Bocuse Restaurant Chef Vaccaro is noted for initiating table side Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream service to the United States. In his tenure at the CIA he developed new exciting one of a kind projects, like 3D extrusion chocolate printing, and 3D powder base printing, partnering with Hershey, 3D Systems, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Chef Vaccaro was also responsible for partnering with the highly acclaimed pastry school EPGB in Barcelona, Spain bringing 3 Star Michelin chefs to campus and creating years of student learning and development. In addition, chef Vaccaro partnered with the Coupe de Monde World Champions at CAST Alimenti Brescia, Italy.

For many years, Chef Vaccaro was a culinary leader in Atlantic City, where he was executive pastry chef at the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino and Trump’s Taj Mahal and Tropicana Casino and Entertainment Resort in Atlantic City. Vaccaro also served as executive pastry chef at the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Chef Vaccaro prepared desserts at the White House, creating long lasting memories for many dignitaries.

Chef Vaccaro is a Certified Executive Pastry Chef C.E.P.C. and a Certified Master Baker C.M.B. He is the American Culinary Federation’s Gold Metal National Pastry Chef of the Year in 2004. He coached the U.S. Culinary Team to many gold medals in the 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 at the Culinary Olympics in Frankfort, Berlin and Erfurt, Germany. Chef Vaccaro earned a perfect score for his Pastry display as the Team ACF Pastry Chef at the 1992 Culinary Olympics, Frankfort Germany.

Throughout his illustrious career, Vaccaro has earned gold medals in competitions around the world, including ,London at Hotel Olympia (1992)  Switzerland at the Culinary Mondal (1993 and 1999), Chicago’s  NRA Show (1992 and 1999), Scotland at Scott Hot (2001),  New York, at the Jacob Javits Center (1990,1991,1996,1997,2008,09,10,11,12,13,), and in Orlando, Civic Center as Gold Metal team winner Culinary Super Challenge (2010,2011,2012,2013).