Michael Foster, a proven culinary leader with exceptional capabilities, joined Cindy Pawlcyn's team in the summer of 2009. Michael demonstrates a mix of the very best qualities for his position– experience, curiosity and a passion for sharing knowledge. Notes chef/owner, Cindy Pawlcyn, "He strives for the very highest standards in food quality, food appearance, staff development and guest satisfaction and these are precisely our objectives at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen."

"I want every guest at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen to have an experience that ultimately becomes part of a cherished memory," quotes Foster. "Cindy's values and priorities over so many years have resulted in an ideal culture where chefs and chef-students cook and create in a highly-positive environment. I am deeply honored and excited to be joining her team."

Before joining Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in 2011, Michael was at Cindy Pawlcyn's Go Fish, now Brassica Mediterranean Kitchen & Wine Bar. Before that, he spent the last nine years of his career in association with Chef Thomas Keller, first as Executive Sous Chef at Bouchon Bistro (Yountville, Napa Valley), then in a pre-opening capacity at Bouchon Bakery and Café, New York City (Manhattan) and at Bouchon Bistro, Las Vegas. He returned to Yountville's Bouchon Bistro as Executive Sous Chef for the last two years before joining the Cindy Pawlcyn team.

Before he relocated to Napa Valley in 2000, Foster was Chef de Tournant at T'Cooks, Royal Palms Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. He received his Associates Degree in Culinary Arts from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute where he was a Graduate of the first diplomate program with Le Cordon Blue. Prior to his time in Arizona, Foster served as Sous Chef for The Keystone Grill, Indianapolis, Indiana where he also pursued a degree in hospitality management from IUPUI.