Adam Howard joins Park Hyatt Washington, D.C. as executive chef

Park Hyatt Washington, D.C. appointed Adam Howard as executive chef of the Michelin-starred Blue Duck Tavern. Howard brings 16 years of experience to his new position, having worked at restaurants throughout New York, South Carolina and Washington, D.C. He will work closely with Troy Knapp, Park Hyatt Washington, D.C.'s director of food & beverage and culinary operations, on creative menu development. Joining chef Howard is Colleen Murphy as pastry chef. Murphy has been with Hyatt Corporation for six years, most recently as pastry chef at Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Spa.

A native of Pell City, Ala., Howard graduated in 2006 from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Upon graduation, he began his career at Beacon Restaurant in New York City before moving to Hudson Yards Catering, Danny Meyer’s former off-premises catering company, where he served as a production cook/event chef preparing dishes inspired by Meyer’s restaurants. Two years later, Howard joined the Trusteed Dining Room within the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he managed the fine dining kitchen and its 14 employees.

In 2009, Howard relocated to Charleston, S.C., to serve as executive chef of Tidewater Catering, a catering company known for its Lowcountry fare. Simultaneously, Howard launched Street Foods, a mobile kitchen offering street foods from around the world. Street Foods was the primary food provider for multiple festivals including Kulture Klash, Eye Level and the Green & Fair Festival. Then in February 2010, he moved to the nation’s capital to serve as executive sous chef, under the leadership of chef José Andrés, at his flagship restaurant Jaleo. One year later, Howard was tapped to serve as sous chef at Volt in Frederick, Md., before being named chef de cuisine for Bryan Voltaggio’s additional dining concepts: Lunchbox in Frederick; Range & Aggio in Chevy Chase, Md.; and Ellipsis in Mumbai, India.  

Before joining Blue Duck Tavern, Howard held the position of corporate chef at Mike Isabella Concepts for four years. Here he was responsible for building an evolving group of restaurant projects nationwide.

Murphy hails from Kingston, N.Y., and is an honors graduate from Johnson & Wales University. She is one of seven members of the Hyatt Corporate Pastry Specialist team which contributed to branding a chocolate for Hyatt Hotels with Felchlin chocolate—now used companywide. Murphy moved up the ranks at Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch, where she started as a cook taking on additional leadership responsibilities including managing the pastry department. During her tenure, she developed new a la carte menus for both Hyatt Regency Scottsdale’s restaurants, SWB and Alto for fall 2015 and spring 2016.

In mid-2016, Murphy joined the opening team of the Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Spa as pastry chef, where she developed, created and managed the entire pastry program for the property. During her tenure, she assisted with the opening of Hyatt Regency Lake Washington and aided with several other pastry departments within the company.