Alumni Success

Daryl Ostrovsky
Culinary Arts, 1996

As a teenager, Daryl Ostrovsky worked part-time in various restaurants and enjoyed the experience. He began his professional career in sales, but dreamed of being a chef. A native of Miami, Florida, Daryl moved to Atlanta in 1991 to experience a new city and decided to go back to school to become a chef.

After graduating from The Art Institute in 1996, Daryl worked as a line cook and was soon promoted to assistant pastry chef at a local restaurant. Within the year, he was hired as executive chef for a new restaurant in Buckhead and opened a restaurant in Atlanta. In early 2001, Daryl moved to Portland, Oregon, and put his culinary talent to work in a creative way by opening Great Dog Bakery, Inc. "The pet business is a huge business," Daryl said."It represented over $34 billion in revenue for the U.S. in 2004. Dog treats alone were close to $15 billion." In his endeavor to make the Great Dog Bakery truly great, he applied his knowledge of sanitation, nutrition, and food handling, along with his appreciation of using only the highest grade ingredients in his recipes. He explained that when he develops a new culinary pet product, he finds inspiration in a human recipe and then tailors those ingredients to meet nutrition standards and taste requirements for dogs.

Daryl's goal to make the Great Dog Bakery successful is paying off. His company is currently a member of the World Wide Pet Industry Association (WWPIA). His advice for current students is, "Be prepared to pay your dues in the restaurant business. Find the niche in the business that you love and work hard to achieve your personal goals in that industry." To recent culinary graduates, he advises, "Be prepared to make the time commitment when you first start out. Understand that there are very long hours involved and it will be hard work. If you have the proper focus and fine-tune your culinary skills, you will be successful.

You can check out Daryl's web site at www.greatdogbakery.com.