BIOGRAPHY

JOSEPH STEWART
Chef de Cuisine, TS Steakhouse, Turning Stone Resort Casino

A native of Western New York, Chef de Cuisine Joseph Stewart has successfully transferred his culinary experiences in a some of the world’s top resorts to the beautiful views of the 21st floor and the kitchen of TS Steakhouse at Turning Stone Resort Casino.

Stewart’s culinary aspirations stem from weekly cooking sessions with his grandfather, a World War II Navy chef Stewart describes as an “old world cook”. These childhood lessons served as a foundation for Stewart’s interest in a career in the food industry. He attended Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, and received his degree in Culinary Arts in 1998.

After graduation, he worked at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Manhattan and Soho 33 in New Jersey before taking a position as Chef de Cuisine at The Dining Room at Anthony David’s in Hoboken, New Jersey in 2004. In an effort to gain a more solid culinary foundation and work with top talent in New York City, Stewart began working as a Sous Chef at Abboccato Ristorante under the watchful eye of Executive Chef Jim Botsacos.

At Abboccato, Stewart helped expand the menu by creating new rustic and house made pasta dishes, efforts that helped contribute to the restaurant’s two-star review in The New York Times. In 2006, Stewart was promoted to the position of Executive Sous Chef at Oceana Restaurant, another restaurant within the Livanos Restaurant Group. There he fed his passion for preparing seafood in a three-star environment.

In 2008, Stewart joined the team at BLT Steak in New York City as the Executive Sous Chef. The skills he mastered at Abboccato and Oceana were ones appreciated by his new mentor Laurent Tourondel. After only a few months, Stewart was quickly promoted to Chef de Cuisine of Tourondel’s BLT Steak outpost at The Ritz Carlton Hotel & Spa in Puerto Rico. Fluent in both English and Spanish, Stewart used his language skills in and out of the kitchen while living and working in San Juan. Stewart says, “One of my favorite things to cook are braised Short Ribs, and Tourondel is a true meat master. My time at BLT Steak had been an exciting growing experience in which I came to understand new flavor profiles and award-winning techniques”.

After nearly 3 years in the Caribbean, Stewart decided to hit the Rockies and became the Hotel Sous Chef for The St. Regis Hotel & Spa in Aspen, Colorado. While there, he was an integral part of The Food & Wine Magazine’s annual Food&Wine Festival that was hosted by the hotel.

Stewart’s passion for local ingredients and menu creation has brought him back to his roots, his home state and to Turning Stone Resort Casino. Stewart is proud to uphold the high standards of Turning Stone Resort, and is very enthusiastic to further the Resort’s reputation as one of Central New York’s top dining destinations. He has a keen appreciation for fresh, local ingredients and will be creatively incorporating them into his daily blackboard specials to provide local flavor to TS Steakhouse’s menu offerings.

When Stewart is not running the kitchen at TS Steakhouse, he enjoys spending time with his fiancée Jennifer and their Olde English Bulldog Franky, and exploring all that Central New York has to offer.