New Corporate Chef Appointed at Coral Tree Cafe
Highly-acclaimed Chef Joseph Gillard has joined the Coral Tree Cafe group as the new Corporate Chef, where he will preside over three cafe locations (Brentwood, Encino and Century City), as well as the brand new Red Room Food & Wine Bar.
Online, December 29, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Kevin Khalili, CEO of Coral Tree Cafe, has announced the appointment of acclaimed Chef Joseph Gillard as Corporate Chef/Head of Culinary Operations for the restaurant group. "I am excited to join a growing company whose standards of sustainability aligns with my own. Our shared philosophy of farm to table cooking, use of local purveyors and thoughtful preparation makes a perfect partnership," states Chef Joseph Gillard, on his newfound employment at Coral Tree Cafe. In this role, Chef Joseph will be in charge of overseeing all culinary operations, including recipe development & modification, catering & events, as well as kitchen management.
Before acquiring his position at Coral Tree Cafe, Chef Joseph Gillard held the title of Executive Chef at Tavistock Restaurant "Napa Valley Grille" in Westwood, CA. During his time as Executive Chef, Gillard maintained a farmer's market menu including many sustainable and organic pre fixe menus, performed at numerous high-profile film premiere events, as well as effectively executed offsite catering events.
During the course of his career, Chef Joseph has directed fine dining at many high volume, high-profile restaurants, hotels, and catering events nationwide. Prior to working at Napa Valley Grille, Chef Joseph served as an Executive Chef at Sunset Beach Restaurant, Mirabelle Restaurant, various restaurants and steakhouses under the Patina Group, and performed as an Executive Sous Chef at Egypt Valley Country Club and Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Michigan. He has also had the opportunity to develop opening menus at several locations, executed catering events with up to 2,500 guests, and even started a community-supported agriculture program with Country Fresh Farm. Gillard has received accolades from highly-acclaimed distributions such as Los Angeles Times, Angeleno, Washington Post, KNBC, Gourmet Magazine, KCET, KCRW, Huffington Post, and Los Angeles Magazine, and has appeared on several TV Shows including ABC 7 News, Good Day LA, Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution," and Fine Living Network's "Opening Soon."
Chef Joseph Gillard was raised in Fremont, Michigan, where Gillard's family maintained goats, chickens, rabbits, pigs, pheasants, and cows, which instilled a respect and devotion to using sustainable, high-quality local produce, as well as an eagerness to begin a life dedicated to culinary arts. Gillard graduated from Grand Rapids College with an A.A.S. in Culinary Arts, where he received the Faculty Recognition Award of the Year, and moved to California in 1993 to begin working for the Patina Group.