Stephen DeMarco, Benjamin Knack, Berndt Schmitt, Craig Richards, Kyle Rourke, Andrew Wilson, Jason Drysdale, Keith Stich, David Diaz
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Bret Thorn
Stephen DeMarco has been appointed corporate chef for Villa Enterprises’ full-service restaurants, based in Morristown, N.J.
Most recently, DeMarco was the chef of Harvest Restaurant Group’s Roots Steakhouse, with locations in Morristown and Summit, N.J.
“My philosophy on food is to keep it simple,” he said. “Let the ingredients speak for themselves and not get lost in too many flavors. After all, guests should know what they are getting; it shouldn’t be a guessing game. I like to stick with simple flavor profiles and foods that naturally pair well together.”
Benjamin Knack, former chef de cuisine of Sel de La Terre in Boston and a past contestant on Fox TV’s “Hell’s Kitchen” cooking competition program, was named executive chef of the Bedford Village Inn in Bedford, N.H. This summer his menu included chilled Maine tomato soup served tableside with a petite lobster salad and seared scallops with baby corn, corn puree, corn bread, bacon powder and squid-ink vinaigrette.
Berndt Schmitt, former corporate executive chef for LSG Sky Chefs, where he developed menus for international airlines, has moved from Dallas to Miami Beach, Fla., where he is now executive chef of The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach.
Craig Richards, former executive chef of La Tavola Trattoria in Atlanta, was appointed executive chef of Ecco, also in Atlanta. Replacing him at La Tavola is Brent Banda, who was promoted from sous chef.
Kyle Rourke has been promoted from sous chef to executive chef of Red Star Tavern in Portland, Ore., where he has worked since 2007. Dishes at the restaurant include smoked Kobe brisket with baked corona beans, crispy onion and bourbon glaze; and Dungeness crab salad with melon, mint, scallion and crème fraîche.
Andrew Wilson has moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area from Charleston, S.C., and is the new chef de cuisine at Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar in Sonoma, Calif. Most recently a sous chef at The Glass Onion in Charleston, Wilson also cooked at McCrady’s and FIG in Charleston, where he lived for 10 years.
Jason Drysdale is the new director of culinary operations at Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y. Most recently, he was the Miami-based corporate executive chef for Norwegian Cruise Line.
Keith Stich was named executive chef at Wildfish Seafood Grill in Newport Beach, Calif. Most recently, he spent five years as executive chef of Mastro’s Ocean Club, also in Newport Beach.
New York native David Diaz, former executive sous chef of Bistrot Bagatelle, is the new executive chef of Brasserie Beaumarchais. Both restaurants are in New York.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
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