The foundation for Chef Dunlap's passion for food was laid early in life. Born in Washington State near Puget Sound, he recalls fondly his childhood days spent playing and harvesting in his family's orchards, foraging for huckleberries, picking strawberries and blackberries and tending to bees. After a job cooking at a local farmer's market in Boulder, Colorado, Chef Dunlap was inspired to enroll at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, CA.

Upon graduation, he worked under Executive Chef Jung at El Encanto Hotel in Santa Barbara, where he learned to utilize fresh, seasonal ingredients. After his next job cooking at a five‐star Four Seasons property, Chef Dunlap and his family moved to Virginia to be closer to family, where he opened Alain Ducasse’s Adour restaurant as Chef de Partie. 

It was there that Chef Dunlap developed the finer points of his culinary approach. After a stint as Sous Chef at Plume Restaurant at The Jefferson Hotel in DC, Chef Dunlap was recruited by The Inn at Little Washington, where he was promoted to Executive Sous Chef. Chef Dunlap then celebrated three years at Ashby Inn in Paris, Virginia as Executive Chef. From there he became the Executive Chef of Quirk Hotels, Quirk Richmond and Quirk Charlottesville for five years.