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Alumni > Alumni Profiles > Shawn Doyle '91
President's Award 2007
Shawn Doyle started cooking when he was knee-high to an oven. It was the time his mother fell ill and was bed-ridden for days. Shawn was seven years old – a hungry seven-year-old – and, after calling his grandmother for her recipe for stuffed peppers, the boy took the spatula in his own hands, as it were, and the rest is culinary history.
Shawn's grown-up career began at Anthony’s Lounge & Restaurant in Bethlehem, as kitchen manager, from 1981-1984. From there he moved up to assistant chef at The Spring Valley Inn; and then sous chef at Cascade Lodge. He was assistant manager/sous chef for the Spice of Life when he received his degree in restaurant management from NCC in 1991. At Northampton, Shawn served as president of the Hotel/Restaurant Management Club; and held both vice president and secretary positions on the board of directors of Phi Theta Kappa's International Scholastic Society. He has also served as adjunct professor at NCC, teaching the elements of baking.
After two runs as executive chef – first at the Brookside Country Club, then at Hotel Bethlehem – Shawn decided it was time to put his experience to work for himself. Shawn is now executive chef/owner of The Savory Grille in Macungie. Actually, Shawn shares the gourmet-creating duties with his wife, Dorothy; the chef team-in-residence met, appropriately enough, in a high school culinary class. The Savory Grille, celebrating its 10th anniversary, is a vintage country inn that, until recently, doubled as home for the couple and their two children, Emily and Liam.
A commitment to good food doesn’t stop at Shawn's stovetop though. The love of his trade is seen in his involvement with such organizations as the Culinary Advisory Committee at NCC, the Culinary Arts Advisory Committee at Lehigh County Technical Institute (LCTI), where he serves as chairman of the board, and the American Culinary Association (local chapter of the Greater Lehigh Valley Professional Chefs Association), where Shawn changes from a chef's hat to that of treasurer.
The culinary destiny Shawn started fulfilling so long ago has also earned him accolades and honors as a top gourmet artist: he has been named Local Chef of the Year in 1997, has won the John Hovanec CEC AAC Award, and took two silver medals for Contemporary Hot Food Completions. It is that high level of excellence that gives our Alumni Association pride in presenting Shawn Doyle with our President's Award.
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