Nitin Bali is the new pastry chef of The Langham hotel in Chicago, overseeing the pastry kitchen at its signature restaurant, Travelle, as well as the property’s tea service, private kitchen orders and catered dessert services.

Most recently, Bali led the pastry kitchen at The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago. Prior to that he worked at various Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts properties.

Frank Barajas is the new executive chef of Vesper Resort on Pismo Beach on California’s central coast. Most recently he was senior chef de cuisine at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marinaand before that he was chef de cuisine of Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif.

Goran Basarov is the new executive chef of the CordeValle resort in San Martin, Calif., overseeing its three restaurants — Il Vigneto, Lion’s Peak Grill and Onie Iron Bar — as well as in-room dining. Born and raised in Macedonia, Basarov is a self-taught chef who most recently was executive chef of Balboa Cafe, a restaurant in San Francisco that’s part of the Plumpjack Group.

Diego Bernal is the new chef de cuisine of Aveo Table & Bar at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in Dana Point, Calif. He got his start as chef de partie at the W Hotel San Diego and then became sous chef at The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills. He went on to hold chef de cuisine positions at The Montage Beverly Hills and The Resort at Pelican Hill and was on the opening team of the Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown. Most recently he was the executive chef of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside, Calif.

Aaron Bickham has been promoted to corporate executive chef, from corporate executive sous chef, of The Bartolotta Restaurants in Milwaukee, Wis.

He has been with the company since 2001, and before that he was in Chicago as executive sous chef of BellyQ and Urbanbelly. Prior tp that he held a similar position at Maison Brasserie, also in Chicago.

The Goddess and Grocer in Chicago has named Mike Ciardi its executive chef, Alysha Dinatale its executive pastry chef and Alisha Elenz its chef de cuisine.

Ciardi, who studied the music industry in New Orleans, moved to New York City to be a music fesstival producer before finding he had more interest in the catering tents than the music. He attended culinary school and began cooking at retailers Radish and Union Market before joining The Goddess and Grocer team.

Dintale has been with The Goddess and Grocer since 2007 as pastry assistant just out of culinary school, starting out by decorating cupcakes and working her way up to her current position.

Elenz will be driving the menu at the store’s West Loop Location. Previously she has wokred at Maude’s Liquor Bar, Waldorf Astoria and BopNGrill, all in Chicago.

Travis Cintron is the new executive chef at the Loews Boston Hotel and its Precinct Kitchen & Bar. Most recently he was executive chef of Lake Rabun Hotel & Restaurant in Lakemont, Ga., and before that he was executive sous chef at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, Calif.

Major League Soccer team St. Louis City SC has named local chef and restaurateur Gerard Craft its “flavor officer.” As such he will work with Levy Restaurants, which has been awarded the concession for the stadium, as well as the team’s fan base and the culinary community to develop food for games once the team debuts in March of 2023.

Craft is the founder of the Niche Food Group, which operates the Pastaria concepts, BrassWell, Cinder House, Sardella, Brasserie by Niche and Taste by Niche.

Gilles Epié has been named executive chef of Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Epié trained in his native Francer under Alain Senderens, Alain Ducasse and Roger Jaloux. Most recently he was culinary director of the Montage Beverly Hills in California.

Jason Franey is the new executive chef of Juniper and Ivy in San Diego. He has spent the past several years as special projects chef and consultant for Accor Hotels. Prior to that he worked with Michael Mina to refresh his properties in Las Vegas and San Francisco, and before that he was executive chef of Restaurant 1833 in Monterey, Calif. That followed his award-winning stint as executive chef of Canlis in Seattle. 

Franey got his start working up the ranks at L’Escalier at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., and later worked under Daniel Humm as executive sous chef of Campton Place in San Francisco. He moved with Humm to Eleven Madison Park in New York City before heading up Canlis.

Will Fung is the new head chef of China Chilcano, José Andrés’ Peruvian restaurant in Washington, D.C. Most recently the chef of Fat Choi Hotpot, also in D.C., Fung has spent nearly two decades working in restaurants in the area. He also spent a year in Kyoto, Japan, cooking in a kaiseki restaurant. He grew up on Hong Kong.

Juan Gutierrez is the new pastry chef of Adorn Bar & Restaurant which chef Jonathon Sawyer opened at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago last year. Originally from Cartago, Colombia, he studied at The French Pastry School in Chicago and by age 24 was executive pastry chef of Longman & Eagle, also in Chicago. Before joining Adorn he led the pastry kitchen of Virgin Hotels Chicago.

Tomoyuki Hayashi is the new executive sushi chef at Sushi Amane in New York City.

Originally from Shizuoka, Japan, Hayashi moved to Tokyo and apprenticed under sushi chefs there before moving to New York and starting at Matsuri Restaurant at the Maritime Hotel. He then spent 12 years as executive sushi chef at Sushi Azabu.

Alexis Hernandez is the new executive chef of Hotel Revival in Baltimore. He attended culinary school in his native Peru and worked in high-end restaurants there before landing a job at the Peruvian Embassy in Washington, D.C. After two years there he worked at other Washington-area restaurants including Le Diplomate, Zengo and Romeo & Juliet. He went on to work at Boleo at the Kimpton Gray Hotel in Chicago before returning to D.C. as executive sous chef of Dirty Habit at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco before joining Revival.

Ricky Lopez has been promoted to executive chef from executive sous chef of the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Fla. He has been at the property for five years, but he has been with Rosen hotels for 13 years, most recently as head chef of Cala Bella at the Rosen Shingle Creek, also in Orlando.

Tara Monsod is the new executive chef of Animae in San Diego, Calif. She has also worked at two other Brian Malarkey restaurants in San Diego, Herringbone and Burlap, as well as Mozza Pizzeria in Los Angeles and Juniper & Ivy in San Diego.

Deavynne Millward is the new pastry chef of Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Ariz.

She started her pastry career at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, which she joined after culinary school, and then became pastry chef of Tonto Bar & Grill in Cave Creek, Ariz. She also appeared in the first season of the TV Food Network show “Candy Land.”

Yoonjung Oh has been promoted to executive pastry chef of Jungsik in New York City, where she has worked since 2017, most recently as pastry sous chef. Prior to that she studied at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and externed at Aquavit, also in New York City.

Harol Ortiz is the new executive chef of the InterContinental Houston — Medical Center. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Ortiz most recently was executive chef of the Hotel Colonnade Coral Gables in Florida. He also was chef and owner of his own restaurant, La Churuata, in Miami. Before that he was executive chef of another InterContinental property, the Willard, in Washington, D.C.

Jesse Pita has been promoted to executive chef from chef de cuisine of The Ben in Palm Beach, Fla.

After gradutating from culinary school at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., Pita moved to Lahaina beach on the Hawaiian island of Maui, starting as sous chef at the Pacific‘o and then at Merrimans before becoming chef de cuisine of The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort.

Then he helped open The Ben in 2019 as chef de cuisine.

Zachary Rozanski is the new executive chef of Corinne at Le Méridien Denver Downtown after working for nearly 14 years at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts in Denver; Vail, Colo.; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; and St. Louis.

Phil Rubino is the new executive chef of Coda di Volpe in Chicago. He got his start after culinary school at Bin 36 in Chicago, where he worked his way up from line cook to sous chef. Then, after working at Spiaggia for awhile he returned to the Bin 36 team to work at Bin Wine Café and A Mano. Then he became executive chef of another Italian Chicago restaurant, Moderno. He then moved to Santa Monica, Calif., to help open Elephante before returning to Chicago and taking up his current position.

Melissa Sallman is the new executive chef of the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa, overseeing its steak and seafood restaurant, Sear & See. Most recently the executive sous chef of the JW Marriott Marco Island, also in Florida, Sallman has spent more than 20 years with Marriott, starting at the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest and then working at properties in St. Louis, Mo.; San Antonio, Texas; and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Marcos Seville is the new executive chef of the Naples Grande Beach Resort in Naples, Fla.  A recipient of a scholarship to The Culinary Institute of American through the Careers through Culinary Arts Program, or C-CAP, Seville’s past experience includes jobs at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, the Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa, also in Phoenix, the Peabody Orlando (now the Hyatt Regency Orlando) and the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia.

Dave Stockford has been promoted to executive chef  from chef de cuisine of No. 246, a Ford Fry restaurant in Decatur, Ga. He joined the parent company, Rocket Farm Restaurants, around seven years ago cooking at the Optimist in Atlanta. Then he joined the 246 team, interrupted for a few months cooking at JCT Kitchen & Bar, also in Atlanta, befoe returning to 246.

Drew Van Leuvan is the new execlutive chef of Ecco Buckhead in Atlanta, part of Fifth Group Restaurants. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., Van Leuvan started cooking in New York City under such chefs as Wylie Dufresne, Sam Mason and Jean-Louis Palladin before relocating to Atlanta and cooking his way through many fine restaurants there as well as opening his own pasta company, Pain de Mie. Most recently he spent eight hears as executive chef and partner of Seven Lamps.

Jack Yoss has been promoted to vice president of culinary, up from director of culinary, for Hai Hospitality, the parent company based in Austin, Texas, of Uchi, Uchiko, Uchiba, and Loro. The company said the promotion gives Yoss the opportunity to expand his team as new restaurants are opened.

Before joining Hai Hospitality, Yoss was director of cuisine at the W Retreat and Spa on the Indonesian island of Bali, where he oversaw culinary operations and worked on global food and beverage brand initiatives.