Meet the Instructors

Andrew 'Dewey' Ikeda
Dewey is our Head Butcher here at France 44. He has nearly 20 years of industry experience and is constantly excited to share that knowledge with others who are eager to learn.
Anna Glassman-Kaufman | WSET 2 in Wines
Anna is the Marketing Coordinator here at France 44, and comes from a background in baking and pastry. She has loved getting to learn more about cheese & wine at France 44 and when she's not at work, you can find Anna gardening, seeing live music, and tending to her sourdough starter, Massimo.
Austin Coe Butler | ACS CCP®
Austin is the DTC Foods Classes Coordinator for France 44 Events, a Cheese Buyer at the France 44 Cheese Shop, and our resident cheese maker. When he’s not behind the cheese counter or leading classes in the Events Space, he can be found reading, gardening, or in the kitchen coming up with new class ideas to share with out customers and staff.

Azeria Buening
Azeria is the Kitchen Manager at France 44. She has been cooking professionally for 15 years and has been really good at it for 5. She studied Culinary Arts at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and has been lucky enough to work for and with multiple alumni in the Twin Cities area. Azeria is the mother to two rambunctious children ages two and six that keep her very busy outside of the kitchen and she enjoys video games and writing in her free time.
Brent Tester | WSET 2 in Wines
Brent is an Assistant Manager and Cheese Buyer at the France 44 Cheese Shop. When he's not running around the Cheese Shop, Brent loves to spend his time studying (and, of course, drinking) wine, reading, playing golf, and trying as many restaurants as he can around the Twin Cities.
Emily Cochrane | WSET 3 in Wines
Emily started working on the wine team at France 44 in 2022 following many years working in Twin Cities restaurants, and she has her WSET Level 3 in wine. Her favorite styles of wine are always changing, as is the dynamic world of wine! Her fridge and bar are consistently stocked with cheap bubbles, way too many jars of pickles, and Fernet Branca.

Hailey White | WSET 3 in Wines
Hailey is the Events & Hospitality Director at France 44. She fell in love with wine after nearly a decade of working in wine-focused restaurants in the Twin Cities, and has her WSET Level 3 Award in Wines. She'll forever be on a deep-dive into the many, many styles of Italian wines, and those of the 'Ancient' world. Hailey believes firmly that wine education is for everyone and should be fun & unpretentious, and hopes to extend that ethos to others.
Josh Timmerman | WSET 3 in Wines
Josh is our WSET Exams Officer and an occasional member of our wine team. He has his WSET Level 3 Award in Wines. His favorite libation continuously changes, but right now he is really into wines from the diverse region of Piedmont, Italy.
Kaleigh Swift | WSET 3 in Wines, Sommelier
Kaleigh received her WSET 1-3 certifications through France 44 Wines and Spirits where she works part time on the events team and assists and teaches public classes. She works full time in communications at the University of Minnesota. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, playing and watching volleyball, spending time with her cats and working on house projects.

Karina Roe | DipWSET
Karina is a wine educator and the General Manager of the France 44 Event Space. She completed her WSET Diploma in Wine in 2020. Her fridge is usually occupied by bubbles, and she and her partner share an adorable dog named Ziggy who loves eating sticks as much as she loves drinking bubbles.
Natalie Allesee
Natalie currently teaches the Pizza, Pasta, and Knife Skills classes at France 44, and has been working in and running restaurants for 15 years. She is also the owner of Rowan Private Dining, a private chef & catering service operating in the Twin Cities. When not cooking, teaching, or reading about food, she spends her free time hiking with her dog, traveling, or dining at one of the many delicious restaurants MN has to offer!
Sophia Stern | WSET 2 in Wines
Sophia has been with the France 44 Cheese Shop since 2019, though she has worked in cheese since 2015 in her hometown of Brooklyn, NY. She combines her passion for food and wine in pairing classes and loves to tell stories of the farmers and cheesemakers who make the cheeses we adore possible.