Hotels name F&B leaders

A number of executive chefs and executive sous chefs have been appointed at hotels across the country.

Bloomington, Minn.

Radisson Blu Mall of America has promoted Chef Dinesh Jayawardena to regional executive chef. Jayawardena held the position of executive chef at Radisson Blu Mall of America since 2015. He developed the FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar brand—Radisson Blu’s signature farm-to-table restaurant concept—across the U.S.
  
In Jayawardena’s new role, he will oversee culinary operations at three regional properties under the Radisson brand: Radisson Blu Mall of America, Radisson Blu Downtown Minneapolis and Radisson RED Minneapolis. This includes all food and beverage for meetings, events and roomservice, as well as branding and menu development for FireLake’s two Minnesota locations.
 

Jayawardena has nearly three decades of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Originally from Sri Lanka, he was the first culinary consultant to travel to the U.S. from his home country. At the time, Jayawardena worked for a private Minneapolis restaurant in the Uptown food district. He briefly returned to Sri Lanka to work at the Mount Lavinia Hotel before returning to Minnesota. In 2012, he became the club chef for the Legends Club of Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, and the stadium’s other two restaurants. Jayawardena joined the preopening team for Radisson Blu Mall of America’s FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar in 2013 where he worked as executive sous chef. He was promoted to lead the hotel’s culinary team as executive chef in 2015.

Nisswa, Minn.

Grand View Lodge, Spa and Golf Resort has appointed William Coyle executive chef. Coyle will drive the culinary operations for the resort, including its seven dining venues—Char Craft Steaks, Cru Restaurant and Wine Bar, Northwoods Pub, On the Rocks, Freddy’s Sports Grill, Preserve Pub and Tanque Verde Cantina—and banquet operations.

Coyle most recently served as the executive chef at Mancy’s Steak House in Toledo, Ohio. Before that, he held several posts within Hollywood Casino including assistant executive chef where he oversaw operations for multiple outlets. Coyle also held  chef positions at Ameristar Casino in Missouri, Francisco Grande Golf Resort and Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa in Arizona.

Scottsdale, Ariz.

The JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa has appointed Matthew Mina executive sous chef. After serving in the Marine Corps, Mina attended culinary school in San Francisco and baking and pastry school in Napa Valley, Calif. Upon graduation, he joined Auberge du Soleil as the pastry cook and further educated himself on the relationship between food and wine. 

After leaving Napa Valley, Mina worked in various kitchens in the San Francisco Bay area, Seattle and throughout Oregon before moving to Arizona in December 2018 to join Renaissance Downtown Phoenix as the executive sous chef. 

Miami

The W Miami has named Micole Rivera Suarez as the new executive sous chef. Rivera brings more than seven years of experience in the culinary industry to the hotel, having worked as a chef de cuisine and sous chef in various luxury hotels including The Ritz Carlton San Juan, The Ritz Carlton Boston and JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort. Rivera received her bachelors in culinary management from Universidad del Este in Puerto Rico. She also received several professional certifications from the Instituto Internacional de Artes Culinarias Mausi Sebess in Argentina. 

Part of Rivera’s vision for the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, Addikt Modern Kitchen, is to develop seasonal menus with locally sourced ingredients. Additionally, she will work closely with the W Miami staff to create unique experiences like intimate tasting dinners or team-building cooking classes.