Meet The Team
Matt Maroni has over 27 years of hospitality experience working in operational, entrepreneurial, and food policy, respectively.
He has operated in Restaurants, Private Clubs, and Hotels over his 25 year career and was the driving force behind the Chicago Food Truck movement, lobbying local leadership while leading the food truck community. Matt lives in Avondale with his wife and three daughters. Although Matt does work day to day in the restaurant industry; Let Loose Dinner series will allow him to have a creative space to bring a new way of thinking to the dining experience once a month.
Currently, Matt is the Head of Restaurant Transformation for the Perfect Company, which brings technology into the heart of the kitchen for small, medium and large restaurant groups. Prior to the Perfect Company he brought operational and conceptual knowledge to the Kitchen United team; opening the Chicago facility as GM. Matt was also the Director of Kitchen Design for Kitchen United where had the opportunity to work with operators and teams across the restaurant business, transforming their businesses and kitchens for the digital age.
Among other positions, Matt was chef/owner of gaztro-wagon, the groundbreaking food truck in the City of Chicago and Chicagofoodtrucks.com as proprietor and author on a model ordinance to allow cooking on mobile food trucks for the City of Chicago. Matt was awarded as trendsetter of the year by the Chicago Tribune, best community sponsor, and best food truck in Chicago by Time Out Magazine in 2011. Matt has extensive relationships, contacts, entrepreneurial spirit, and expertise in the areas that align with the restaurant industry.
Matt holds a BS degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the Conrad N. Hilton college at the University of Houston and was awarded the Dean’s Award for his graduating class. Matt has worked in renowned kitchens including Certified Master Chefs and Michelin star recipients throughout his career.
Michael is the creative force driving the tone, shape, and texture of the Let Loose online experience. He created the immersive menu animations, videos, and site branding, all culminating in the experience that is Let Loose.
Beyond Let Loose, Michael is co-founder and Creative Director for Tractatus Design Studio.
Michael’s background in sound design goes back nearly 20 years. As an experimental musician, he has won awards, attained critical recognition for his work on Flying Lotus’s label “Brainfeeder,” he’s been featured in major publications, and has made countless hours of strange sounds to accompany his life as he lives it.
He transitioned into graphic design, UX design, animation and videography in the early 2010’s, and has continued on ever since.
He likes to cook, hang out with his wife, and make wire art in his free time.
Ken is the Website Developer responsible for the code and execution of Let Loose. Beyond the web, Ken also designed and produced the 3D printed and electronic medium for this event series.
His view on Let Loose was to help create a unique and immersive user experience by utilizing full page sliders, SVG animations, and paced transitional elements.
Beyond Let Loose, Ken is co-founder and Lead Developer for Tractatus Design Studio.
His introduction to coding began back in 2015 when he was writing C++/C programs for the Arduino. Looking for ways to further develop his coding skills and follow his passion, Ken pivoted careers and became a front-end web developer. He finds challenge, excitement, and satisfaction in the websites he creates. In his spare time you can find Ken building electronics, 3D printing, or experimenting with new and creative ideas.