our team.
The Green Planet team is made up of motivated & talented career restauranteurs. Each member of our ownership group has 10 years or more in the restaurant business with combined experience of over 50 years. We started Green Planet because we saw a way to give back in a tasty way. Meet the people behind this vision:
Daniel Whittaker began managing bars while still in school at The
University of Alabama. After graduating he moved to Chapel Hill, NC
where he assisted in the opening of the nightlife portion of La
Residence and watched profits go from under $1 million annually to $2.5
million over a 5 year period. His next stop was at Rum Runners USA as
Business Developer, where he grew the company by 40% and completely
restructured the marketing and retail portions of the business.
Green Planet Catering has seen approximately 15% growth each year and has included a range of aggressive supplemental projects including a sustainable farm-site and biodiesel production facility. His current projects include: A new farm site working in conjuction with a local university, an extensive herb garden at the GPC office, consulting work/seminars for companies looking to "green" their practices, and the "greenovation" of his new home in downtown Raleigh.
Pete Pagano has several years of restaurant experience that spans the
globe. From managing a cafe in Guatemala, a pub in Ireland and serving
as COO of a chain of restaurants in Belgium and Luxemburg, Pete brings
an international flavor to the team. Apart from Green Planet, Pete
owns a successful restaurant in downtown Raleigh. He currently sits on
the board of several downtown committees as well as on the board of the
Downtown Raleigh Alliance.
Carolina. In addition to a formal education, Christi trained under chef
Christian Clements during her internship at Figure Eight Island.
Ferguson of Durham Catering Company. This is where Christi learned the
importance of supporting local farmers and procuring as much as
possible from within this region. Christi likes the food to speak for itself by using clean, subtle flavors.
Rebecca Carraway recently graduated from NC State University earning a degree in Public Relations,
and two minors in Business and Design. After spending a semester interning for Green Planet Catering she joins the team to help grow the business and push are marketing efforts even further.
Samantha Jones is a sophomore at Elon University in Burlington, NC. She is currently studying Environmental Science with a concentration in sustainability. She hopes to pursue a career in the 'green' food industry with the ultimate goal of working in environmental law.