Loews Iron Chef Lunch
When: Monday, July 25, 2011 / 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Location: SA1 / Orange County Convention Center
Contact Hours:
Description
Enjoy a fast paced educational lunch as meeting
professionals from around the country battle on two teams for Culinary
Supremacy. You will witness the culinary expertise of Loews Executive Chefs in
this MPI exclusive battle. Each chef will be teamed with meeting professionals
with the challenge of creating dishes each to be presented to the judges.
Although known for their respective cooking expertise, these talented chefs will
only be allowed to instruct and guide each team. So in the words of the famous
Iron Chef Chairman.....Let the Battle Begin!
The Chefs
TOM KRIEBEL
Executive Chef
Loews Philadelphia Hotel
Thomas Kriebel arrived in Philadelphia as the opening
Executive Chef of the Loews Philadelphia Hotel in November of 1999, as part of the opening team. His duties included the hiring and training of all Culinary staff and overseeing all food related operations of this 583 room hotel with 42,000 square feet of meeting space along with “Solefood” a Seafood Restaurant. Before joining Loews Hotels, Chef Kriebel was previously with Hyatt Hotels for 13 years serving as Executive Chef in Saint John, USVI, Executive Bethesda, MD, Executive Sous Chef in New Orleans, LA and Albuquerque, NM.
Chef Kriebel, along with 5 other Loews Hotels Chefs, was chosen to participate at the Annual James Beard Foundation New Years Eve Dinner in December 2000. He was featured on the cover of Lodging F&B Magazine in the March/April 2001 issue. Additionally, Loews Philadelphia Hotel was chosen to host the annual holiday dinner for the Chaine des Rotisseurs (Philadelphia Chapter) in December 2001 and was given the “Best Event of the Year” award. In June of 2003 Chef Kriebel hosted the grand gala (Grand Chapitre) of the International Chaine des Rotisseurs national meeting held in Philadelphia.
A native of Philadelphia, Chef Kriebel attended Johnson & Wales University School of Culinary Arts, Providence, Rhode Island.
LUKE FORZANO
Executive Chef
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando
Luke Forzano is executive chef at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando. A native of upstate New York, he is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has participated in three James Beard House Dinners during his career. Chef Luke has been on the opening team for two hotels, re-launched nine restaurant concepts and re-designed multiple restaurant kitchens. His passion is to produce memorable culinary experiences through exemplary food and service.
Chef Luke also served as chef de cuisine at the former Gaucho Room at Loews Miami Beach Hotel, where he refined the dining concept into a South American grand grill, developed menus and spearheaded an externship program with the Culinary Institute of America. His extensive hotel experience includes the Wynn and Encore in Las Vegas, where he served as executive sous chef of the only Five Star and Five Diamond-rated resort casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Chef Luke also worked in various roles ranging from sous chef to banquet sous chef to lead cook at the Ritz Carlton in Naples and Amelia Island, Florida. He began his culinary career at the Depuy Canal House, a 4-star rated restaurant by the New York Times.
As a participant in multiple food and wine festivals and celebrity events, Chef Luke has worked alongside some of the most talented chefs in the industry and has given his time and talents to help support the March of Dimes, Food for the Poor Foundation and local schools.
NANDO BELMONTE
Executive Chef
Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando
Nando Belmonte is executive chef at Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando. He was on the opening teams for both Loews Royal Pacific Resort and its sister property, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. Chef Nando has been instrumental in the development, implementation and ongoing operation of several of Loews Hotels’ most successful food and beverage outlets at Universal Orlando Resort.
Born in Rome, Italy, Chef Nando grew up in Sydney, Australia, where he graduated from the Sydney TAFE College of Culinary Arts. He began his culinary career in several of Sydney’s most renowned restaurants and even ran his own restaurant before joining the the hotel industry. He worked his way through the banquet departments and fine dining restaurants at the Sydney Hilton International Hotel and the Sydney Novotel Hotel, where he worked under renowned Chef Hiner Volkens, a member of the German Olympic Culinary team.
Chef Nando came to the United States in 1995, when he joined the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, working first in their three-meal restaurant and later in an upscale seafood restaurant that was rated among the top ten in the country by the Zagat guide. A member of the American Culinary Federation since 1995, Chef Nando has won numerous culinary awards, including a silver medal in the Individual Seafood Signature Dish Cook-off in 1999, as well as silver medals in the Team Super Challenge and Pasta
cook-off in 2003. As an active member of the American Culinary Federation, Chef Nando also participates in community outreach and food service activities for organizations that include the March of Dimes, Give Kids the World and Daily Bread.