Gordon Ramsay has always promised the winner of the second season of his Hell's Kitchen show an executive chef gig at his restaurant inside the London West Hollywood Hotel, and now that time has come for winner Christina Machamer.
Machamer, a 25-year-old St. Louis native who was still in the midst of finishing Culinary School when she filmed the show, had the least experience of all the contestants. Ramsay, for now, has confidence in Christina's ability to helm the kitchen:
"Christina had the least amount of experience coming in, but I sensed something special," he said. "She had the best potential of any contestant."
We just dined at Gordon Ramsay the other night and were perfectly content with our dishes. Yet maybe Christina will bring some heat into the kitchen when she takes over.
While some hotel staffers are busying themselves finding new and innovative ways to charge insane hidden fees, others are ... harvesting their own honey on the roof of their big-city hotel, if you can believe it.
Here's something we haven't heard of before (we'll spare you the "buzz" puns): Toronto's Fairmont Royal York has added three beehives to its rooftop terrace (where the hotel already grows its own herbs and veggies) that will produce up to 700 pounds of honey every year. Sweet! (Ha! Sweet! Get it?)
And in a display of cuteness so sweet it almost stings (ha - again!), the hotel has named the hives the Honey Moon Suite, The Royal Sweet and the V.I. Bee Suite.
Marriott Hotels are no stranger to blogging: Bill himself has been blogging away for over a year now. And since the start of this year, the head chef of Marriott has had his own blogging gig with the new Marriott in the Kitchen blog.
Unlike yesterday's disappointment with the Jumby Bay Resort blog, the people at Marriott have obviously got more of a clue about what makes a blog that readers will keep coming back to.
Brad Nelson, officially the vice president culinary and corporate chef of Marriott International, began with a post about how he started out as a chef, and how he learned the mantra he still works by: "You're only as good as your last meal."
The hotel has appointed an executive chef Didier Virot who will oversee the Palm Court restaurant, in-room dining as well as two new spaces---the Champagne Bar and the Rose Club.
Straight from the press release:
The new Plaza will feature a more intimate lobby setting where the elegant Champagne Bar will offer light bites and incomparable selection of sparkling wines from around the world, while the stylish Rose Club will give midtown New York City a chic contemporary vibe with signature cocktails and small plates offered on the mezzanine overlooking the stunning lobby.
The fully restored Palm Court will continue to offer its timeless afternoon high tea, as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner in one of New York's most legendary settings.
The cuisine from Virot, who was once executive chef at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Jo Jo then at Vongerichten's four-star restaurant Jean Georges, will blend classical and modern French, "classified as French World Cuisine".
This is not Virot's first time in a hotel either. He opened his first solo venture in the Dylan Hotel in 2001. He's also the chef behind Aix on the Upper West Side and FR.OG in SoHo.
We had almost forgotten that the long-awaited, first ever NYLO Hotel would be opening this year. Such is the danger of a prolonged hotel hype--we keep hearing over and over that a hotel is going to open "soon" and then after a few years we forget that it actually will.
Anyways, we have Chef Wiley Bates III to indirectly thank for the NYLO Hotel in Plano, Texas opening reminder. That's because Bates was hired as the hotel's food and beverage director. He will oversee the urban loft-style bar and 24-hour, three-meal restaurant called Loft (pictured above.)
With its whimsical Dallas-meets-Soho-meets-South Beach décor, The Loft will welcome guests and be a popular neighborhood gathering spot.... Like the entire hotel, The Loft is designed by Stephane Dupoux, the creative design force behind premier restaurants and nightclubs around the globe. Among Dupoux' designs: Buddha Bar and Cielo, New York City, and Pearl and Nikki Beach, Miami's South Beach.
Ooh sounds pretty hip for Plano, no? As for the Warwick, Rhode Island location, expect that hotel to open in Summer 2008.
One of the D.C. metropolitan area's brightest culinary stars, Fabio Traboccho, is leaving the Ritz-Carlton's Tysons Corner restaurant Maestro for the Big Apple, to become chef-partner at Fiamma Osteria in SoHo.
Born, bred and trained in Italy, the 33-year-old Traboccho hasn't stayed put in one place too long since he embarked on his meteoric career, with stints Italy, London, Moscow, D.C., Marbella, then London again, where he opened Grissini Restaurant at Hyatt Carlton Tower.
Gordon Ramsay has always promised the winner of the second season of his Hell's Kitchen show an executive chef gig at his restaurant inside the London West Hollywood Hotel, and now that time has come for winner Christina Machamer. 
2 Comments - Add Yours
by juliana
While 
