More about Chef Bill Trudnowski Chef Bill Trudnowski has been a Chef in the Seattle-Tacoma area for over 20 years. Growing up in a family of 6 children, Bill's father, Jerry, was his role model for cooking. "My Dad did a lot of the cooking, and I loved to watch him. My Dad grew up in the Trudnowski homestead of Harlowtown, Montana with a butcher as a father, and a dairy farmer as an Uncle. He ate farm to table every day." After playing football at Carroll College in Helen, Montana, Bill joined the Army, where he had a chance to serve our country. His love of cooking kept calling. While in ROTC at Gonzaga, he got his first job at Clinkerdagger's in Spokane, WA. Little did he know his first Line Cook job would become his destiny. Bill soon transferred with Restaurants Unlimited, Inc to Seattle, where he began his first Sous Chef position at now closed Triples, on South Lake Union. His hard work soon begat his first Chef appointment, to Cutters Bayhouse in 1984. Bill recalls a bustling Pike Place Market scene where he would work from 6 am until 2 am. "Sometimes I would just sleep in my office, I was so committed to knowing that operations ran smoothly, and the Guest was receiving the quality they deserved." Bill promptly was given Executive Chef status, and became a Food & Beverage Director in the corporate office. He traveled the West Coast and Hawaii, rounding out a 16 year relationship with Restaurants Unlimited, Inc in every kitchen position from top to bottom. In 2000, Bill was recruited by local Seattle company Consolidated Restaurants to become their Corporate Executive Chef. Building the Chef team and overseeing recipes for restaurants such as Metropolitan Grill, Elliotts Oyster house and Union Square Grill in Seattle kept Bill passionate about food, and fueled his desire to be a restaurateur. "I watched Mr. C come in to work every day at the Corporate Office on Mercer Island, and he commanded so much respect for that. He was so passionate about food, and the experience. I could talk to him for hours." During his tenure at Consolidated, Bill made sure ongoing education and knowledge were a priority for the best Chefs in Seattle. He took his entire Chef team to the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, California every year for a week of intense training and education. His annual trips to Nebraska allowed him the opportunity to inspect and ensure that the beef for the company and especially Metropolitan Grill remained one of the best steakhouses in the country. Chef Bill took a leap of faith in leaving the comfort and knowledge he had as a Corporate Executive Chef. He knew he wanted to create something special, and help develop a kitchen of his own. All of his years of hard work paid off when he purchased his first restaurant in Tacoma. Long time friend, Chef John Howie, was supportive and loved Bill's Adriatic Grill concept. Bill knows how much hard work is needed to succeed, and he has an endless supply of that. He was nominated for the Spotlight on Business Award from Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce in 2008, recognizing outstanding business contributions in the community. Bill is also excited about the newly formed relationship with Clover Park Technical College and their culinary program. "I want to find the next Chef Bill and help them get where they need to go. It's my contribution!"

More about Monique Trudnowski Monique landed in Tacoma via Fort Lewis. Growing up with a father in the Army has always been an advantage to her. She grew up watching her Mother play social hostess to many of the military spouses. "My mom was always welcoming new families on base, trying to make them feel at home, even when home might be 1000 miles away. She learned everyone's name, and was so involved!" Hospitality was always important to Monique. When her family settled at Ft. Lewis, Tacoma became her permanent home. Her restaurant career began in Steilacoom, WA at the now closed E.R. Rogers. Former owner, Gordon Robertson, jokes that "I hired her as a busser & hostess. Before you know it, she was bossing all the servers around, trying to run the place!" Monique recalls growing from busser/hostess to server and eventually bartender. She remembers sitting in the private room with then General Manager Shirley Deverna, and learning all about wine. "Shirley would go through each wine with me, why it was unique, and why your Guest would love it. It was like she was talking about friends, not wine." During this time, Monique took a second job at Stanley & Seaforts as a lunch server. This would prove to be a great opportunity for her career. Monique looked for every opportunity to learn while at Stanley & Seaforts. She quickly became involved as an Ambassador to the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, and helped oversee the execution of holiday & special events like Valentine's Day, and Zoobilee. As a Program Manager, she helped grow the Preferred Guest recognition program to include frequent communication with repeat Guests, and engaging them while in the restaurant. She transferred to Restaurant Unlimited's premier restaurant, Palisade, in the Elliott Bay marina. She learned even being in the flagship store, and helped at Maggie Bluff's as an interim General Manager while working there. She left Restaurants Unlimited for a career change, working for L'oreal Paris in their Luxury Division, Lancome while working out of her Seattle office and New York. She used her hospitality and passion for people as the Regional Education Executive for Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Alaska. She worked closely with hoteliers and restaurateurs facilitating trainings, product launches and catered events for all of the states in her territory. Bill approached Monique about opening Adriatic Grill, and asked her to be the Operations Manager. He knew from her track record of success she was the only person who truly understood his vision and could match his passion ounce for ounce in daily operations. Monique helped Bull by creating and cultivating the Front of House culture of 100% hospitality that permeates Adriatic Grill. Monique oversees all of the Front of House staffing and operations, and handles all aspects of Community Involvement. She coordinated the effort to invite the families at Tacoma Rescue Mission's Tyler Square to Adriatic for a Thanksgiving Dinner. She organized 50 Volunteer workers for the event, many of them being regular Guests and their families! Monique was recently voted in to join Tacoma Regional Convention & Visitor's Bureau as an Ex-Officio member of the Board of Directors. She hopes to learn about how restaurateurs can help bring dollars to the business community with travel & tourism. Her vision is to become a strong foothold in the community. "We made a conscious choice to move back to Tacoma from Seattle, and start our business here. We wanted to create jobs, and support the community that supported me growing up. We wanted opportunity to hit home."

Bill & Monique Trudnowski are proud of their 6 children and currently reside in Tacoma. They are Community Sponsor members of the McChord Chapter of the Air Force Association and fully support Tacoma Public Schools.