Our TEAM
chris rogers
Manager
Chris Rogers grew up in West Texas before moving to Greeley, Colorado to complete his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Vocal Performance. After performing professionally in Texas, Colorado, California, Germany, and France, Chris realized that opera was not his true passion and gave up music in the pursuit of wine. He then went to work for Bobby Stuckey at Frasca Food & Wine where he worked his way up the ladder to front captain and a member of the wine team. After a brief stint in beverage distribution, Chris has joined the Safta family as a manager.
His passion for wine and hospitality is at the heart of his drive to ensure that every guest has a memorable experience. He hopes that you will come in excited to try new from Israel and around the world to enhance the incredible food prepared by this team!
Caroline Gray
People Operations Coordinator
Caroline is a native of Lexington, KY who first developed her love for all things culinary in her grandmother’s kitchen. She is passionate about good food, art and travel and the experiences they help create. These mutual loves guided her to study at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA where she graduated with a degree in Spanish. She has since lived in Argentina, Sicily and Spain, completing her Master’s in Event Planning and Management at the Instituo Europa di Design in Madrid.
She moved back to Lexington in 2016, where she completed a B.A. in Studio Art at the University of Kentucky. Caroline is beyond excited and proud to be a part of the dynamic management team at Safta promoting culinary growth, culture and creativity in Denver. Outside of work she loves traveling, writing postcards, making art, and always enjoys a good glass of wine.
Courtney King
Manager
Courtney grew up in Dallas, and moved out to Colorado in 2016 and began working in the growing Hospitality Industry in Denver. Most recently, Courtney was a manager at Old Major in the LoHi neighborhood. She is now excited to move over to Safta in RiNo. In her spare time, Courtney loves to hike and she is also a bit of a tech enthusiast!
Corey neigherbauer
Sous Chef
Corey grew up in Colorado, and later on moved to New York to pursue cooking. He worked his way up in the kitchens of many different chefs, before landing his most recent role as Executive Sous Chef at Momofuku Ssam Bar. After 15 years of living in New York, Corey started to long for the mountains and wanted to be back closer family. He is now very excited to contribute to the Denver food scene and see it continue to grow at Safta!
MICHAEL SCHORN
Sous Chef
Michael was born and raised in the prairie of South Dakota where he learned about farming and a sense of community. After graduating culinary school he soon moved to Atlanta. Upon arriving in Atlanta he worked under various chefs and concepts to hone his craft and learn wherever he could. Michael got his first head chef role in 2002 and continued opening different concepts for other owners until receiving a partnership at TopFlr in 2007. After 20 years in Atlanta he was ready for a slower pace and more of a sense of community. He packed up and moved to Charleston. While in Charleston something unexpected happened. He found a new passion for Israeli food and culture while CDC at Butcher and Bee restaurant. Michael is now moving to Denver to be closer to family and pursue his new love for Israeli cuisine. Michael is excited about being part of the Safta family.
Josh Gordon
Chef de Cuisine
Josh began his career in food service in Boulder, Colorado working as a cook in restaurants while attending college. Realizing a passion for food, after graduating from CU Boulder, he attended the Culinary School of the Rockies where he gained a foundation in cooking technique and culinary arts. After working for several years in a local fine dining restaurant, he then moved back to his hometown of Chicago for several years of product and flavor development and corporate culinary work.
But, the mountains were calling his name again, and Josh moved to Bozeman, Montana where he became the chef of a modern Mexican restaurant. After 4 years years in Bozeman, he returned to Denver and joined the crew at Safta. When he's not working, he can be found skiing or on one of the local mountain bike trails, he also loves to research and try different cuisines, the unique menus of Chef Alon Shaya is part of what attracted him to join Safta.
Liliana Myers
Pastry Chef
Liliana Myers has been in the food industry since her days working at Lindell Delicatessen in her hometown of Long Beach, New York. After graduating from high school, Myers moved to Pittsburg to study Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. After one year, she headed to New York City to pursue her true passion – pastry.
Myer’s informal education started at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery, where she worked as a pastry cook. It was there and at Bar Boulud that Liliana learned to perfect the production of macarons, and developed a love for French pastry. She decided to move to France where she landed a position at La Feniere as a pastry and savory cook. Here, she produced desserts for both the Two Star Michelin gastronomique restaurant, as well as the bistro. After returning to New York, Myers worked as a pastry sous chef at various French restaurants, including the One Michelin Star restaurant Rouge Tomate, where she created sustainable and nutrition-forward desserts, aligning with the restaurant's ethos.
In 2013, Myers relocated to Boulder, Colorado, where she worked as Executive Pastry Chef at The Mediterranean Restaurant, Brasserie 1010, and Via Perl, with some front of house experience as General Manager at The Bakery at the Mediterranean. Liliana is excited to join the team at Safta, where she'll create desserts and pastries to reflect the modern Israeli menu, celebrating the region's signature ingredients like orange blossom, pistachios and figs.
Julia Gersuk
Events & Catering Manager
With over a decade of experience in the food industry and four years of experience in Food Sales & Marketing in Colorado, Julia has dedicated her life to the culinary arts. She is thrilled to help expand the reach of Safta's unique and inspiring mission and menu to as many people as possible! Julia's favorite city is San Francisco, where you can find her sipping an Old Fashioned.
Joe Castillo
Sous Chef
Joe grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska where his love of great food came at a young age thanks to his mother. During high school, Joe became a dishwasher at a fine dinning restaurant in Lincoln, and then later moved to working as a line cook. After five years of working in restaurants in Nebraska, he decided to move to New York City and go to culinary school at the International Culinary Center. This also led him to attend Alma culinary school in Colorno, Italy. After graduating from ICC, Joe worked at ABC Cocina for two years and then Jean-Georges for a year and a half. He then decided to move back toward the Midwest to be closer to home and closer to the Rockies! He is excited to join onto the Safta team.