Chef David Sears has been appointed chef de cuisine of Temple Orange at the beachside Ritz-Carlton property in Palm Beach, Florida. The winning chef-testant on the Food Channel’s reality show, Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell, David opted to bring his expertise and creativity to re-energize Temple Orange at The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach, instead of taking the grand prize of Executive Chef for the NYC restaurant Zengo
Chef David is a graduate of Johnson and Wales in North Miami, Fla. who also studied Business Management and Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. He began as personal chef for the former mayor of West Palm Beach before he started his own catering company. Chef David took his talents to The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne from 2001 – 2004, as garde manger sous chef and was part of the opening team for The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach and Coconut Grove properties. He became garde manger chef for the Mandarin Oriental, Washington D.C. and was promoted to chef de cuisine of Café MoZu which became one the “Top 50 Restaurants in Washington D.C. and “One of the Hottest Restaurants in the World.”
In 2006 - 2009, Chef David garnered accolades from Conde Nast Traveler and Destination Living magazines for his work at the Ginn Reunion Resorts on Orlando, Fla., as chef de cuisine for all their restaurants and for opening The Grande Hotel signature restaurant concept for all 14 Ginn Resorts. As executive sous chef at Terranea Resorts and Hotel in Rancho Palos Verde, California he managed a $50 million food and beverage budget and returned to his native Florida in 2010 as part of the opening team for the newly established Waldorf-Astoria, Orlando, as executive chef for the Bull and Bear Restaurant for which he garnered countless awards and accolades including the 2012 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards Critics’ choice: Best Steakhouse; 2011 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards Readers’ Choice Best Hotel Restaurant; 2011 Silver Spoon Reader’s Choice Awards, Best Steakhouse, Best Service, Best Desserts, Best Fine Dining.
“Chef David’s unparalleled enthusiasm and commitment to delivering an unforgettable dining experience is exactly what makes him the ideal talent to re-energize the Temple Orange vision,” said Michael King, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach. Temple Orange 561-540-4924 www.ritzcarlton.com/palmbeach
