Born: 2-23-64, Kansas City , Missouri
Parents: Helen Taylor Knowling, Chicago native, and LeRoy Walter Knowling, KC native
Siblings: Marla and LeRoy
Spouse: Deb Kay-Knowling, Montclair native
Major Migrations: From KC to Dallas : 1983. From Dallas to NY/NJ: 1988.
Apprenticeship in Culinary Arts: French, American, and Southwestern cuisines, under the instruction of Emil Bigler, Peter Saint John, and Timothy Rodgers. Pastries, under Austrian pastry chef Karl Reisenberger.
Cities of his career in fine dining: Dallas , TX ; Manhattan and Brooklyn, NY; Whippany, Morristown , Montclair , Tenafly, and Florham Park , NJ ; Old Greenwich, CT
Entrepreneurship: Chef de Cuisine Catering, Epicurean Yves , and the original Dinner Club , 1992 – 1997; The “Indigo family,” 2002 onward
From childhood, Lance watched his mom working wonders in the kitchen and sought to learn from her. Attributing her skills to her chef father, she would share family secrets and encourage his creativity. A love of home cooking gave great food a prominent role in every gathering of family and friends.
Beloved teacher Miss Fannie Nelson gave ongoing motivation to a talented student in her Culinary Arts Program at The Kansas City Technical Education Center. She helped him research The Culinary Institute of America and advised him on European-style apprenticeship programs. Lance moved on to the apprenticeship program of Dallas ' El Centro College, executed at the Park Central Hotel's 4-star restaurant Laurels.
He then became Saucier at Enjolie, the 4-star restaurant in The Four Seasons hotel. When Marriott Corp. purchased the Las Colinas property, the Executive Chef invited Lance to NYC for the lead role, Chef de Cuisine, in the fine dining restaurant of their flagship hotel Marriott Marquis on Broadway.
Later, Lance chose to complement his corporate experience with several years in smaller fine dining operations that would give him the perspectives for running his own small business. He was a chef in several critically-acclaimed metropolitan area restaurants, including NY's Butterfield 81 and NJ's Le Delice, The Black Orchid, Hudson Place, America Bar and Restaurant, Yves, and The Park Avenue Club.
His entrepreneurial ventures before Indigo Smoke included Chef de Cuisine Catering, independent consulting, and his original edition of The Dinner Club , known by many across Essex County.
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