Chef Hofmeister was born into a family of Chefs and Vinters, growing up in the wine country of Rhineland Pfalz, Germany.  He graduated at age 17 from a three-year culinary apprenticeship and hotel school in Germany and established his career by working in leading five-star hotels in Europe, South Africa and the United States.  He worked for the Westin Hotels for 20 years, opening Westin properties in Kansas City, Atlanta, Detroit, Tulsa and Maui, before being appointed as the Executive Chef at the Westin’s Five Star Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.  In his 13-year tenure at the Century Plaza, he supervised an apprenticeship program and was also the Culinary Coordinator in charge of 10 Westin Hotels and resort properties on the West Coast.

He moved on from the Century Plaza to establish the Los Angeles Culinary Institute in Burbank, CA, serving as its President and CEO for 8 years.  Chef Hofmeister continued his work in culinary education by opening the Las Vegas Culinary Institute and serving as its Academic Director for 4 years.  He left the area of culinary education to serve as the General Manager for Martin’s Caterers Valley Mansion, which handles special events for up to 1,300 people in three ballrooms, where he worked for 10 years.

Since 2019, Chef Hofmeister has served as the Food and Beverage General Manager for the Belle Haven Country Club in Virginia.

Chef Hofmeister’s honors have included being named Chef of the Year by both the Chef de Cuisine Association of California and the California Restaurant Writers Association, winning gold medals in international culinary competitions including the Culinary Olympics, being named Culinary Educator of the Year by the American Culinary Federation and being inducted into the Hall of Fame Society with the International Food and Beverage Forum at Johnson and Wales University Rhode Island.mber of St. Therese Catholic Church.