Julie Mautner reports.
Mexico and the Caribbean Guillermo Gomez has been promoted to exec chef at Maroma Resort on the Riviera Maya. Gomez joined the Orient-Express property as exec sous chef in 2004 and replaces Drew Deckman.
Christopher Chafe has been promoted to exec chef at The Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda, replacing David Garcelon, now at The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. At The Fairmont Royal Pavilion on Barbados, Patrick Doté is the new exec chef, most recently exec sous chef at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle.
Canada Fairmont is playing musical chairs with its chefs. Geoffrey Morden returns to The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, this time as exec chef. Morden's most recent position was exec chef at The Fairmont Winnipeg. He's replaced in Winnipeg by Nick Beaumont, who was promoted from exec sous chef. David Garcelon is the new exec chef at The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto and is the first Canadian to hold that position. He comes from the company's hotel in Southampton, Bermuda. Collin Thornton is the new exec chef at Ottawa's Fairmont Château Laurier, transferring over from the Royal York, where he was exec sous chef. And exec chef Daniel Tobin has left Fairmont Le Château Montebello in Quebec to be exec chef at the Fairmont Tremblant. Congrats to all!
London David Schofield is the head chef at the 120 seat Tamesa@oxo, a brasserie/bar opened on the second floor of the Oxo Tower Wharf in early May. Schofield comes from Massive Ltd., owner of the informal L'Auberge chain; before that he was at Claridge's and the Ritz. Tamesa offers all-day dining, including breakfast, pre-theater, and a full bar menu. It's a partnership between Oxo Tower Wharf, Coin Street Community Builders, and Dominic Ford, the former restaurants and food retail director at Harvey Nichols who also created the OXO Tower Restaurant on the wharf's eighth floor. Tamesa's gm, Graham Munton, worked previously at Le Cercle.
This month chef Tom Aikens launches his second London restaurant, the all-day (7:30 a.m. to midnight) Tom's Kitchen. Located a block from King's Road, a few hundred yards from his eponymous Michelin-starred first restaurant, Tom's Kitchen is an informal venture over the four floors of a former pub: there's a 90 seat ground-floor brasserie, a first-floor bar and game room, a 20 seat private dining room, and a large lower-level space for food and wine classes. Head chef Ollie Couillaud was most recently at the Grill Room at The Dorchester. The menu is modern British, with emphasis on organic produce and British purveyors. The open kitchen, with facing bar-stool seating, uses a rotisserie, wood-fired oven, spit-roast, and grills.
Spain The Barcelona-based Hospes Hotels & Moments has opened two new properties, bringing the total to six. The 42 room Hospes Palacio de los Patos opened in Granada in May; exec chef Gonzalo Jurado comes from Can Fabes and Sant Pau, two Michelin three-stars in the Barcelona region. At the 53 room Hospes Palacio del Bailío, opened in Cordoba last month, exec chef Pedro-Miguel Ortega comes from Café de Paris and Tragabuches, both Michelin one-stars in Malaga. F&B director Isaac Mestre, who came from the Marriott in Milan, will oversee both properties. The company's next three openings will be in Jerez, Puigcerda (Catalan Pyrenees), and Madrid; all should launch in 2007.
Russia In St. Petersburg, Colin Flood has been promoted to exec chef at the Hotel Astoria and its sister property, the Angleterre. Stefano Balduccio has taken over as head chef at Angleterre, the position that Flood held until his promotion to the more senior role. Both properties belong to Rocco Forte Hotels, which currently has four openings scheduled: the Hotel de Rome in Berlin (fall 2006), a property in Munich (June 2007), one in Prague (2007), and the Verdura Golf & Spa Resort on Sicily (2008).
Asia John Mooney is exec chef and Michel Nischan is consulting chef at Pure, just opened at Taj Lands End in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Mooney was Nischan's sous chef at Heartbeat in New York City; he's spent two years in India learning the culture and the cuisine. Pure focuses on "promoting well-being" through organic ingredients and simple, flavorful preparation techniques.
Philipp Knuepfer left the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to be f&b director at the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai (Thailand). He replaces Rodolphe Gay, who has left the company. Knuepfe's replacement is Peter Davies, who was promoted and transferred from the Mandarin Oriental Macau. • Kai Lermen is now exec chef at The Ritz-Carlton Osaka, taking over for Aloysius Bokhorst, who will launch the 248 room Ritz-Carlton Tokyo in March 2007. (The $20,000 per night presidential suite already has bookings.) Lermen was most recently exec chef at The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach. • At the new Sheraton Xiamen (China), exec chef Barry Atkinson comes from the Sheraton Suzhou Hotel. F&B director Andrew Ho came from the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers. • Thomas Laberer is exec chef at the Singapore Hilton, most recently from the Shanghai Hilton, where he was replaced by Emmanuel Souliere.
Send your international restaurant and hotel f&b news to Julie Mautner at WhiskNews@aol.com
