The Turning Stone Resort and Casino annually prepares more than 3.5 million meals. From its 21 restaurants and dining outlets, room service and employee cafeteria to the catering for the hundreds of wedding receptions, special events, golf outings and business meetings, the more than 900 employees of the resort’s Food & Beverage Department have their plates full. But it doesn’t end there. They also prepare all the meals for the seven days the pro golfers are in town for the annual Turning Stone Resort Championship, as well as the food for employees, volunteers, media and guests at the event.

The resort’s food and beverage operations are led by an individual with 30 years in managing fine dining and banquet conference operations at high end resorts, Vice President Andrew Lee. Before coming to Turning Stone in 2003, Lee was resident manager of The Resort at Squaw Creek in Lake Tahoe, CA for ten years. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he previously spent 12 years with the Omni Hotels chain, including directing food and beverage operations at such fine resorts as the Sagamore Resort and Spa in Lake George, NY and the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta. At Turning Stone, he places heightened attention on the delivery of high end guest service at every aspect of the resort’s food operations—from the 14 kitchens to the Club two.one, the private club at the top of the 19-story Tower Hotel.

Vince Farrar is Lee’s right hand man on the operations side. He started with Turning Stone’s Food and Beverage Department when the resort first opened in 1993 and there were just three dining options. Today, he is director of food and beverage for a much expanded operation. Over the years, he has seen the resort add restaurants, banquet operations and a much expanded employee cafeteria. Previously he was manager at Giovanni's Ristorante in Syracuse. Farrar has been in the restaurant industry for more than 25 years.

The team of chefs at Turning Stone is led by Executive Chef Michel DiGiorgio. Born and educated in France, DiGiorgio joined the staff at Turning Stone as a chef de cuisine in 1995 and has been executive chef for ten years. He received his culinary arts training at Ecole Hoteliere in France. With more than 30 years in the restaurant business, DiGiorgio has worked as a chef at several fine restaurants before coming to Turning Stone, including: Hotel Du Grand Coeur, a Five Star Relais er Chateaux in Meribel in the French Alps; Sofitel Splendid Hotel, a Five Star Hotel in Nice on the French Riviera; and Pascale’s Restaurant in Syracuse, NY. His culinary specialties include unique chocolate carvings, French cooking and molecular gastronomy.

The remainder of the executive culinary team includes: Executive Sous Chef Weisen Liang; Executive Sous Chef Francesc Mari; and Executive Pastry Chef Jennifer DiGiorgio.

Liang first came to Turning Stone in 1998 and for two years was the head chef at the resort’s then-new Asian restaurant, Peach Blossom. He left Turning Stone for a couple of years to work as a specialty gourmet chef at Yasmins Asian Restaurant at the Horseshoe Casino in Tunica, MS. Liang returned to Turning Stone six years ago as an executive sous chef. A native of Taiwan, he received his training at the Culinary Institute of America, the China Culinary School in Taiwan, and the National Chengchi University in Taiwan. His special skills include exquisite ice sculptures and vegetable carvings. Liang’s kitchen specialties include Asian fusion cooking, melding the tastes of Asian and French cuisine, a trend he created at Turning Stone.

Mari, another chef with an international background, was educated at the Escola d”Hotelatge I Restauracio in Barelona, Spain. After graduation, he worked at several restaurants in Spain and the United States, including La Dama Restaurant in Barelona, the Hotel Arts, a Ritz-Carlton property in Barelona, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia and Keens Steakhouse in New York City. Mari first worked as a chef de cuisine at Turning Stone’s Garden Buffet in 2003. He later worked as the chef de cuisine at Wildflowers, the resort’s Four Diamond AAA-rated gourmet restaurant, before being elevated to executive sous chef in 2007. His kitchen specialties include: Mediterranean food especially fish with Catalan influences.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Ms. DiGiorgio has been executive pastry chef at Turning Stone for nearly 11 years. Prior to coming Turning Stone, she held pastry positions in Central New York and in Florida, including Zebb’s Deluxe Grille and Bar in New Hartford, NY, Darrel & Oliver’s Café Maxx in Pompano Beach, Florida and Pascale’s Bakehouse in Syracuse, NY. Her dessert specialties are: wedding and occasion cakes- cheesecakes, and biscotti
She is married to Executive Chef Michel DiGiorgio—wouldn’t you like to visit their house for dinner!

The other members of the resort’s chef management team are:

Andrew Field—chef de cuisine at Club two.one

Jerry Waterman—chef de cuisine at Emerald Restaurant

Jeff Herring—chef de cuisine at Forest Grill, the resort’s premiere steakhouse and Pino Bianco, a fine dining restaurant specializing in Italian cuisine

Kevin Ford—chef de cuisine, Season’s Harvest, the resort’s popular buffet restaurant

Michael Tubia—chef de cuisine, Wildflowers (located at The Lodge at Turning Stone)

Wei Chen—chef de cuisine, Peach Blossom, fine dining restaurant featuring a variety of Asian dishes

Douglas Clark—chef de cuisine, banquets

Lora Nozzi - pastry chef