Jason Arbusto is the new culinary director Bluffwalk Center, a property development in Lynchburg, Va., where Shoemakers American Grille, Waterstone Pizza and Craddock Terry Hotel are located. Arbusto will oversee those restaurants’ operations as well as room service and events at the hotel, in addition to a new beer garden slated to open this summer.

The Culinary Institute of America graduate started his culinary career at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla., before working in France for Alain Ducasse, Jean-François Piège and the Pourcel brothers.

He returned to the United States and worked at Mix in Las Vegas, San Francisco restaurants The Battery SF, Artesano and Rigalo Café as well as Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, Calif.

He returned home to Lynchburg in 2016 and opened Daughters and Sons Pizza before joining Bluffwalk Center.

Zach Bell has been named director of culinary operations of Ember Group in Palm Beach County, Fla., overseeing operations at Buccan, Imoto and Grato.

A native of Central Florida, Bell is a four-time James Beard Foundation Award finalist for best chef in the South, having cut his teeth in New York working alongside Andrew Carmellini under chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud. He opened Café Boulud in Palm Beach and continued to work for the New York-based company until 2011 when he became executive chef of Addison  Reserve Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla., where he remained until hired by Ember Group partners Clay Conley, Piper Quinn and Sam Slattery.

Victor Casanova is executive chef of the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach, Calif. Originally from The Bronx, N.Y., Casanova studied at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, working at Italian restaurants Beppe and Alto before moving to California, eventually opening his own restaurant, Gusto in Los Angeles, before joining Balboa.

Caroline Concha is the new executive chef of Mohawk Bend in Los Angeles. Born and raised in the Philippines, she has been working in kitchens since 2000, most recently at the vegan restaurant Beelman’s in downtown Los Angeles.

Gerard Cribbin is the new executive chef of High Street Café in Washington, D.C., where he is introducing lunch inspired by the cuisines of Latin American cities. A native of Morristown, N.J., Cribbin most recently was executive chef of The Lazy Goat in Greenville, S.C.

Emily Dillport has been promoted from executive sous chef to executive chef of The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, in Marana, Ariz. Dillport has been with Ritz-Carlton for 12 years, previously holding positions in the Florida cities of Orlando and Palm Beach, the Caribbean islands of Aruba and St. Thomas, and in New Orleans. 

Nelson Erazo is the new executive chef of Red’s Table in Reston, Va. He has spent the past three years as executive chef of Jardenea in Washington, D.C.

Erazo studied culinary management at Johnson & Wales University’s Miami campus and went on to work at the Hyatt Regency Miami as a management trainee before becoming a sous chef at Nordstrom in Coral Gables, Fla. He then joined Remington Hotels, working at One Ocean Resort in Jacksonville, Fla., and then at the Silversmith Hotel in Chicago, before joining Jardenea.

Ryan Fancher has been named executive chef of Hotel San Luis Obispo, which is slated to open in that California town in June. Most recently he was executive chef of Barndiva in Healdsburg, Calif.

Richard Farnabe has been named corporate chef of Reserve Cut, a kosher steakhouse at The Setai in New York City’s financial district.

Originally from Paris, Farnabe has spent the past 25 years in New York City with jobs ranging from chef de cuisine of Mercer Kitchen and executive chef of a nightclub named Lotus to personal chef for fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. He also was a consulting chef at restaurants including Montrachet and Picholine, and executive chef at Petrossian Restaurant.

Josef Felts is executive chef of Green Dragon Tavern and Museum in Carlsbad, Calif. Most recently in charge of club dining at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, Felts started his career in Carlsbad, at West Steak and Seafood, and then at Bistro West. He moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and worked as sous chef for JiRaffe restaurant in Santa Monica, followed by a stint at Carnem Prime Steakhouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., before returning to Southern California.

Laurent Gras has assumed full creative control as executive chef and partner of Saison in San Francisco. Gras had been brought in by founding chef Joshua Skenes as a collaborating chef at the 10-year-old restaurant last year. Gras, a protégé of Alain Ducasse, was chef of Peacock Alley at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York before heading up the kitchen at Fifth Floor Restaurant at the Palomar Hotel in San Francisco. He went on to open LTO Restaurant in Chicago as chef and partner. He had been consulting in New York since 2011 before joining Saison

Jai Kendall is executive chef of Pastaria in St. Louis, part of Gerard Craft’s Niche Food Group. Kendall is a St. Louis native and self-taught chef who got her start in pastry kitchens. She worked her way up to become corporate pastry chef of the Rosa Mexicano chain, and then became its executive chef. After eight years she went on to become a private chef, which took her to Costa Rica where she cooked for five years before returning home to St. Louis last fall. She was executive sous chef of Peel Wood Fired Pizza in St. Louis before joining Pastaria.

Rick Ohlemacher, former chef de cuisine of Free Rein in Chicago, is the new executive chef of The Heritage in Forest Park, Ill. Before joining Free Rein, he was chef of GreenRiver, also in Chicago.

Riccardo Orfino has joined Osteria 57 in New York City as executive chef and partner. Originally from the Italian region of Veneto, Orfino spent five years in Milan at Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia. He then moved to New York as executive chef of Osteria della Pace at the Italian food emporium Eataly, and then was executive sous chef of La Pecora Bianca before taking his current job.

Gabriel Maldonado is the new executive chef at the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Fla. Originally from Mexico City where he started cooking at a young age, he went on to attend the French Culinary Institute in New York City and has since worked at a wide variety of country clubs on the East Coast, most recently at the Country Club of New Canaan in Connecticut.

Patrice Martineau has joined the new Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha’s Vineyard, where he is launching two dining venues, Bettini Restaurant and Roxana Bar.

Originally from Champagne, France, Martineau was chef de partie at two restaurants that, like Champagne, are in the French region of Burgundy: Abbaye de Saint Michel and La Côte Saint-Jacques. He went on to work at the Savoy Hotel in London, Daniel in New York City and The Peninsula Hotel in Tokyo, among other venues, before moving to Martha’s Vineyard.

Victor Martinez has been named executive chef of the Oak Brook Hills Resort & Conference Center in Oak Brook, Ill. The Chicago native worked at the property early in his career and went on to work at Hyatt, Sofitel and Four Seasons properties before rejoining the Hilton Corporation and working at properties including the Conrad Chicago before taking up his new position.

Yimara Medina has joined Circo Dallas as executive chef. She started her career as chef and co-owner of Yia’s by Chef Tino in Isabela, Puerto Rico, and went on to be lead cook at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve property at Dorado Beach in Puerto Rico. She moved to Dallas after Hurricane Maria and worked at Fearing’s Restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel there before joining Circo.

Marcelo Miranda is the new executive chef of the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in Oklahoma City. He is a 20-year foodservice veteran, and most recently oversaw a $21 million operation as campus executive chef for Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.

Prabeen Prathapan has been named executive chef of Paséa Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach, Calif., overseeing Tanner’s Restaurant and Blend Café. His previous experience includes working as executive sous chef at the Montage Laguna Beach and as chef de cuisine of the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas.

Garrison Price has been named executive chef of Cafe Clover in New York City and culinary director of neighboring Clover Grocery as well as at The Well, a membership-based “wellness club” with an organic restaurant and bar with biodynamic wines. Most recently he was chef of Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, also in New York.

Andrew Rodriguez is the new executive chef at Holston House, a Hyatt hotel in Nashville where he is overseeing three dining outlets. A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, Rodriguez got his start under Missy Robbins at A Voce in that city. His first executive chef gig was at the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn & Tavern in New Jersey. He then went on to work for Jonathan Waxman as executive chef of Adele’s in Nashville, and then opened Pinewood Social, also in Nashville, for Max and Benjamin Goldberg of Strategic Hospitality. Before joining Holston House, he was executive chef of Nashville restaurant Little Octopus.

Adam Titze has been named vice president of culinary operations at Sage Restaurant Group, based in Denver, with responsibility for overseeing kitchen operations in several markets.

Titze has been in the industry working in restaurants since age 13, and in 2001 graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Just two years later he became executive sous chef at Bistro 110 in Chicago. After working in fine dining and then banquet management, he took a culinary management position at Innovative Dining Group in West Hollywood, Calif. Most recently, he was director of culinary operations for Belcampo Meat Company in the Los Angeles area.

Brian Tsao has been named chef of special events at Bridgehampton Inn Restaurant in Bridgehampton, N.Y., working under executive chef Brian Szostak, effective May 1. Most recently he was chef de cuisine of Beauty & Essex in New York City.

Michael Vignola, former corporate executive chef for BR Guest Hospitality in New York City, has been named executive chef of Catch Steak, working with John Beatty, Catch Hospitality Group’s culinary director. The restaurant, being developed by Eugene Remm, Mark Birnbaum and Tillman Fertitta, is slated to open in New York City this fall.

Banks White is the new culinary director at Hat Trick Hospitality, based in San Francisco. He has been with the group since 2017, when he became executive chef of Rambler in Union Square. Previously his career included stints at Napa Valley restaurants Auberge du Soleil and Etoile Domaine Chandon as well as Five in Berkeley, Calif., and Minton’s Playhouse in New York City.

Herb Wilson is now executive chef of The Edge in Jackson, N.J. The native New Yorker has a fine-dining background, having trained in Paris at Gerard Pangaud and in Roanne, France, at Les Frères Troisgros. He names Patrick Clark and Larry Forgione among his mentors and also has worked for Marcus Samuelsson and Richard Sandoval at their restaurants.

Scott Winegard (on the left, pictured with chef-owner Aaron Adams), has been named co-chef of Farm Spirit in Portland, Ore. Since 2012, Winegard had worked for chef Matthew Kenney, directing recipe development for his culinary schools and restaurants, opening 30 restaurants including Plant Food and Wine, with locations in in Venice, Calif., and Miami; Double Zero in New York and Arata in Belfast, Maine.

David Woolley is the new director of culinary innovation at Buffalo Wild Wings based in Atlanta, reporting to Jamie Carawan, the chain’s vice president of brand menu and culinary. Woolley has been a Denver-based culinary consultant for the past six years. Prior to that he spent seven years as executive chef of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Brews, and before that worked in fine dining at The Fort in Morrison, Colo., and at the Hotel St. Francis in Santa Fe, N.M. He also owned his own restaurant, The Antero Grill, in Salida, Colo.

Buffalo Wild Wings is a subsidiary of Inspire Brands, and has more than 1,300 locations

Baasim Zafar has been named executive chef of The Peninsula Chicago, overseeing four dining venues, banquets, in-room dining and pastry operations.

Zafar attended Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in London and went on to study at the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. He has spent the past 19 years working in hotels, most recently as executive chef of The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago.