Kyle Hardwick

Kyle Hardwick, CEC, CCA, was raised in a small farming community in the Midwest, where hands-on experience growing and preserving fruits and vegetables instilled a lifelong appreciation for food and its power to connect people.

He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, gaining initial experience in food service as a student manager for the dining service and catering departments.

Kyle launched his professional career at Texas A&M in College Station as Assistant Catering Manager before transitioning to Rice as Assistant Manager for the Catering Department. He consistently worked his way up through the department at Rice, recently retiring earlier this year from his capstone role as Director of Culinary Excellence to pursue additional culinary aspirations.

He earned certification from the American Culinary Federation (ACF), Certified Executive Chef (CEC) designation in 2009, and later added Certified Culinary Administrator (CCA) to his credentials in 2022.

Chef Hardwick is also actively involved as the Certification Chair for the Texas Chef’s Association (TCA) Houston Chapter and has won multiple medals in both team and individual cooking competitions during his career