Rich Lopez and David Bishow
Westward Look Resort & Spa appoints new executives to its leadership team. Lopez will serve as director of food & beverage, bringing with him 21 years of experience in food and wine in the hospitality industry. He will manage all food and beverage processes and events and will establish and uphold exceptional culinary experiences for guests.
Bishow joins the team as executive chef, with over 20 years of experience planning, developing and implementing à la carte, banquet and specialty dining programs. He brings a particular expertise in the Tucson food scene. He will oversee all aspects of Westward Look’s culinary programming from banquets to dining outlets to in-room dining.
Gerard Spezio
Spezio joins Park Hyatt New York as executive chef. He will oversee all culinary offerings and implement his plans to introduce new seasonal menus, featuring as many seasonal ingredients from New York’s Hudson Valley region as possible. He grew up in New York, cooking at his family’s famed Neapolitan restaurant, La Palina of Brooklyn.
Colin Sato
Sato joins Forbes Five-Star rated dining outlet Mugen, onsite culinary outlet at ESPACIO The Jewel of Waikiki, as executive chef. This local talent will oversee the highly anticipated launch of the restaurant’s new dinner offering, which aims to bring Hawaii to the forefront of fine dining excellence.
Ron Stevens
The Allison Inn & Spa appoints Stevens as director of food and beverage. He will oversee all culinary programming at the resort, including its signature restaurant, JORY, and for events. Most recently, he served as director of food and beverage at The Statler Dallas, Hilton Curio Collection.
Andrew Gietzen and Marie Yoshimizu
The InterContinental Bellevue at the Avenue appoints new members to its culinary team, first with Gietzen as executive chef. He brings nearly three decades of culinary expertise to his new role overseeing CE LA VI Bellevue and Fresco as well as all meeting and event catering services in the hotel’s attached Avenue Conference Center.
He is joined by Yoshimizu, who will serve as lead mixologist. She holds numerous accolades, including just recently finishing Top 22 in the 2024 Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s Most Imaginative Bartender Competition. She incorporates scientific thought as well as sustainability into her cocktails.
Senthil Krishnamurthy
Krishnamurthy is appointed as executive chef at Goldener Hirsch, Auberge Resorts Collection. He brings over two decades of experience in fine dining and a deep understanding of the Salt Lake City culinary scene, have served in various positions at a number of local restaurants. His new menus will feature 70% locally-sourced ingredients to spotlight the high-quality produce of the Park City region of Utah.
Steve Uricchio
Everline Resort & Spa appoints Uricchio as director of food and beverage. He grew up watching his father work as a restauraneur and owning restaurants on the East Coast and in California and later on graduated from the Escoffier Culinary Institute in Versailles, France. He has since overseen the launch of over 50 new and remodeled restaurants mainly in the Las Vegas region.
Gastón Javier
Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel welcomes Javier as executive chef. He brings an extensive culinary background and a passion for creating outstanding dining experiences to his new role. He learned to cook at an early age from his grandmothers and grew up to earn a dual degree in culinary arts and business administration.
Mickey Lasater
Lasater joins the team at The LineUp at Wai Kai as director of food and beverage. He brings nearly two and a half decades of experience and an education from Le Cordon Bleu Academy in Orlando. He has served in numerous notable restaurants across Florida and Hawaii and looks forward to driving the hotel’s success through concept and menu development.
Danmy Nguyen and Oksana Kravcenko Dementev
The Ballantyne, in Charlotte, North Carolina, appoints Nguyen as director of food & beverage. Most recently, she served as director of outlets at The Ballantyne. She began her career bartending while attending college and from there, decided to pursue a career in hotel restaurant management. She will lead in menu development and improving service efficiency.
Joining Nguyen is Dementev, as executive pastry chef. She worked in business management and finance before a career switch to hospitality, where she found a passion in pastry and attended school in both Barcelona and Paris. She has collaborated with wedding planners, catered corporate events and various fine dining restaurants as well as creating outstanding deserts for hotels.
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