Cooking for NATO: The Untold Story of Table 33's Dayton Peace Accord Chef

By Alexis Larsen, Dine Out Dayton Correspondent, May 22, 2025

It’s not every day you meet a chef who’s cooked for the architects of global peace—and is still plating up brunch and dinner in your hometown. But in Dayton, Chef Keith Taylor isn’t just serving meals at Table 33—he’s also serving up history with a culinary journey that stretches from the NATO peace table to tables in the heart of downtown Dayton’s Arcade.

Thirty years ago, the eyes of the world turned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where diplomats from Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia gathered to negotiate what became the Dayton Peace Accords—a treaty that ended a brutal war and redrew the map of Europe. When the deal was done and the pens were set down, the celebration moved to one of Dayton’s finest tables at the legendary l’Auberge, a legendary four-star rated Kettering restaurant owned by the late, great Josef Reif.

Keith Taylor, now executive chef at Table 33, was just 25 years old then—a talented sous chef at L’Auberge tasked with helping prepare a meal for these architects of peace including Richard Holbrooke the American diplomat who brokered the deal to end the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Slobodan Milošević, the Serbian President, and Alija Izetbegović, the Bosnian President.

“I knew about the war, but like a lot of people my age, I didn’t pay much attention to it,” Taylor recalls. “When I found out they were coming to Dayton to sign the treaty, I was pretty excited about that. There were going to be international people coming to town, to the place where I worked, and we would get to curate a menu for them.”

The picture Taylor paints of the heightened security is surreal until you look at the secure NATO village that has been set up in downtown Dayton for this visit.

“The weird thing about it was the secret service coming into the kitchen and walking around the building. They had to check our IDs, run background checks, search coolers, and walk bomb sniffing dogs through the space. There was excitement to be cooking for this event and excitement because I’d never been a part of something with so much security,” said Taylor. “Now that they’re back here in town and I look back at that time, it’s really exciting. I’m glad they thought it was worth coming back to Dayton for another visit, to celebrate the treaty they signed. Preparing the food for it—you’re cooking for dignitaries from overseas, for U.S. government officials—it was stressful, yet it was invigorating. I’ve cooked for celebrities before, but this dinner really made me feel like I had done something special.”

The menu that night was as elegant as the moment: pumpkin bisque served in hollowed-out squash, lobster medallions, and perfectly seared beef tournedos. “The presentation had to be flawless,” says Taylor. “Every step we took was watched. It was stressful—but it was the kind of stress that sharpens you.”

That dinner marked a turning point in Dayton’s global identity—and in Taylor’s culinary journey. Today, standing at the helm of Table 33, he still makes that same bisque each fall—now in a vegan version—and still channels the lessons learned from that high-stakes evening: precision, care, and respect for the plate and the person receiving it.

“Preparing food for dignitaries from overseas and U.S. officials was invigorating,” he says. “I’ve cooked for celebrities, but that meal felt truly significant. It made me realize how food can be part of something historic.”

A legacy in the kitchen

To Charlie Carroll, owner of Table 33, Taylor isn’t just a chef—he’s a living link to Dayton’s culinary and cultural history.

“From the beginning I have said Keith is the only legacy Chef left in Dayton. Like all the NFL coaches that can trace their lineage back to Bill Walsh (winning 49ers coach), a Legacy Chef, in my box, is someone who has been mentored by someone who not only had their own traceable lineage but a very successful restaurant like L’Auberge. There are a lot of good chefs out there that are self taught and doing great things, but, there are very few Chefs out there that can trace their chef’ing lineage back four or five generations. Keith is one of those Chefs,” said Carroll.

Taylor’s influence has extended well beyond the historic treaty dinner that took place 30 years ago. He’s quietly built a team of seasoned chefs at Table 33, each of whom once stood beside him in other kitchens. Executive sous chef Justin Gall spent 15 years at the University of Dayton, serving as the personal chef to the university’s president. Production Chef Paul Bard, comes with nearly three decades of experience, and Production Chef Cody Vlasic, a Culinary Institute of America grad known for his baked goods and pastries, rounds out the team.

Together, they’ve turned Table 33 into a culinary tour de force—where legacy meets local, and every dish is steeped in intention. Carroll shares proudly that they are creating a destination that honors the community—its seasons, its farmers, its history.

Making a new history in the Arcade

The restaurant itself tells a story. Housed in a building that dates back to 1903—the same year the Dayton Arcade opened—Table 33 echoes the city’s revival. “We’ve had guests in their 80s and 90s come in and tell us about running around the Arcade as a kid, or getting engaged or married,” Carroll says. “I love telling them: ‘That’s why we’re here!'”

And Dayton is once again in the international spotlight. With NATO dignitaries returning to the city to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the peace accords, Table 33 has been tapped to host several large delegations. Chef Taylor is planning a special dish inspired by the original 1995 menu—an edible bridge between then and now.

While the global stage has changed, the mission remains the same: to bring people together around a table.

“I look at every person I cook for as a VIP,” Taylor says. “Whether you’re a president, a diplomat, or someone stopping in for brunch on a Saturday—cooking for people is a privilege. It’s an honor. And I still feel that every day.”

UPDATE FROM TABLE 33:
Spring menus have launched for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, featuring seasonal ingredients sourced from farms within a 15-mile radius. More than 60% of all ingredients come directly from growers—ensuring unparalleled freshness. To learn more visit www.table33dayton.com.

Alexis Larsen is the Miami Valley Restaurant Association‘s Dine Out Dayton Correspondent and is The Dayton Dish food columnist for the Dayton Business Journal. Stay tuned for more articles from Larsen who has been covering local restaurants and food and dining for more than two decades. When she’s not out dining and writing on nights and weekends Larsen serves as the Chief of Philanthropy for Five Rivers MetroParks.