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Sami Ladki dazzles again and the hotel exec merry-go-round continues |
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Café Japengo executive chef Amiko Gubbins heads off to New York City this month to cook for the exclusive James Beard House. The nonprofit house was created after Beard's death in 1985. Julia Child had the idea to preserve his brownstone in Greenwich Village, making it a center to further the field of culinary arts. The reservation-only $15 0 per person dinners are much sought- after affairs in Manhattan. The chefs who are selected by the foundation and invited to come and cook for the group are truly the up and coming "who's who" of the food world. Many congratulations and a good luck wish goes to Gubbins. *** Café Sevilla is celebrating its 11th year in the Gaslamp Quarter. Congratulations on the many years of success. (Check out my review of its fare in this month's magazine.) *** Palomino Euro Bistro (see review this month) guarantees that lunch guests who must dine quickly will receive their meal and have the check delivered within 45 minutes. If the guarantee is not met, the food is free. Also, the "Spit-Fire Fax" is a new program that allows guests to fax in their orders before leaving for the restaurant. Once guests arrive, they are seated and their lunch is delivered within 10 minutes. Menus are available by calling the restaurant at (619) 452-9000. *** Meeting Professionals Inter-national named Cris Canning a recipient of the 1998 Meeting Professional Award, "Tomorrow's Leaders" category. Canning is a national sales manager for The Event Team in San Diego. Canning's contributions to MPI include serving on the San Diego chapter's board, helping in the creation of a library for the CMP exam and serving as a member of the 1998 WEC San Diego Host Committee. Scott hermes was named as recipient of the 1998 Meeting Professional Award, "International Supplier" category. This award is presented annually to a member of MPI in recognition of outstanding association/industry contributions. Hermes is v.p. of sales at Sunstone Hotel Properties. He left Hyatt Regency San Diego last year. *** The 288-room Rancho Bernardo Inn, and its signature El Bizcocho restaurant, received the Five Star Diamond Award from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences. The Inn and only 100 other properties in the world earned this honor. *** Roppongi made a splashy debut last month in La Jolla. After a week of private parties and practice runs, the upscale "fusion-style" eatery opened its doors to the public and has been jammed ever since. I attended one of the "run-through" evenings. My word, what a gathering of luminaries: Tom Blair, Roger Hedgecock and Ron Roberts, to name a few. *** Hotel La Jolla has named Heather Stambaugh as director of sales. Stambaugh, who spent three previous years working for the Hilton San Diego Resort, is replacing Patricia Shields who took a career jump to the wine industry. Stambaugh is joined by Kristie Tysdale, who was named sales manager for the property as well. *** Cynthia Bartowski, executive chef at Hotel La Jolla's Crescent Shores Grill, was one of 12 winners in the Trefethen Chardonnay pairing recipe contest held last month in Napa. The nationwide competition was part of the winery's 30th anniversary tribute to 30-year-old chefs and the developing trends in food and wine pairing. Bartowski's winning recipe, "Thyme Roasted Guinea Hen with Trefethen Estate Chardonnay Braised Cabbage, Caramelized Baby Vegetables and Black Fig Glaze" was selected from more than 200 entries. Congratulations Cynthia. (Maybe I’ll enter in a few years when I turn 30.) *** The new sous chef at Crescent Shores Grill is Liliaana Navarrete. Prior to taking her position, Navarrete served as sous chef for the Tides Hotel in Miami, Fla. Crescent Shores Grill sits on the top floor of the Hotel La Jolla and serves contemporary cuisine. *** Concierge @ Large President Cynthia Adkins announced the formation of the Concierge Network of San Diego, a professional association for corporate, commercial, residential and hotel concierges throughout San Diego County. The Concierge Network will bring together concierge professionals who seek to increase their level of awareness and competency and increase their contact with other concierges. The group will meet monthly to discuss current issues, review local restaurants and events and nurture vendor relationships. Membership is open to corporate, hotel or retail individuals whose primary profession is in a concierge capacity. For more information call (619) 464-7755. *** Kristopher Beck, with 18 years of hospitality experience, has been promoted to director of food and beverage at the Hilton San Diego Resort on Mission Bay. Beck previously was executive chef for the property and succeeds John Wells, who was recently promoted to g.m. of the Hilton Hotel in Tarrytown, N.Y. *** The Hotel del Coronado appointed Craig Jacobs director of sales and marketing. Prior to joining the resort, Jacobs was v.p., western region for the Plasencia Group, a hotel transactions and consulting company. Previously, he was director of marketing for the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. *** Top San Diego Chef Rene Herbeck has taken over the position of executive chef at Le Fontainebleau Restaurant in the Westgate Hotel, Downtown. Herbeck spent the past few years making magic in the kitchen across the bay at Marius in Coronado. He replaces Bill Henley, who held the position for an incredible 27 years. Other changes at the Westgate include new food and beverage director, Eric Rimmele, who replaced my good friend of too many years, George Cartwright. George started out at the Westgate as a waiter 21 years ago. He has accepted the food and beverage position at the Mission Inn, in Riverside. He is working there alongside former Westgate g.m. Joe Wancha, who left the hotel in March, to take the g.m. position at the Mission Inn. (I’ve always said this is an incestuous little business.) Georg Hochfilzer returned to the Westgate last month to assume the g.m. position; he ran the Westgate from 1974 to 1982. *** Congratulations to the San Diego Convention Center for winning the "Planner's Choice" award for the fourth time. The award is given by the readers of Meeting News Magazine, a publication for meeting and convention professionals. *** Finally, I have learned that Ruby's Diner has added new "Skinny Fries" to its menu. These fries, which sell for $2.79, are said to be 45 percent lower in fat than Ruby's regular fries. Although I have not tasted them, I am indeed interested, although I don’t think it really matters much that they are lower in fat when you dip them in mayonnaise like I do. Terryl Gavre spends her entire day thinking about what she is going to have for dinner. Her favorite food is mayonnaise. She is chef/owner of Café 222 Downtown. She can be reached at 233-4060, Ext. 313. |
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