Master Chef Victor Matthews

Master Chef Victor Matthews began his professional culinary career at a small neighborhood pizza joint in 1982.  

Over the past 40 years, he has won almost every award possible, including fifteen competition medals, an ACF Chef of the Year title, and multiple four- or five-star ratings. 

In 1997, he was recognized as the youngest four-star chef in Louisiana history by the Times Picayune newspaper in his hometown of New Orleans. That same year, he founded his first culinary school, the Culinary Institute of New Orleans.

 In 1999, Matthews moved to Green Mountain Falls to buy and upgrade the 40-year-old Black Bear Restaurant. By 2000, they had earned four stars and won the state championship.  

In 2003, they were the only restaurant outside Denver to earn the coveted 4 stars from the Denver Post, and Chef Matthews had won ten more awards.  

Building on this success and the development of several high school culinary programs, the chef opened Paragon Culinary School in 2004, the state’s first elite private five-star culinary institute. In 2005, he was selected through a nine-month process to become the United States Culinary Ambassador, representing American culinary arts worldwide. Soon after, he also received the honor of World Master Chef from London. 

In 2010, Chef Matthews founded a charity called Restaurant As Mission, which helps people escape slavery and poverty worldwide through job training. Finally, many other projects, including the Tava House and Firebrand Restaurant, are set to open in 2024.