As Mina Group Corporate Pastry Chef, CHEF LINCOLN CARSON is responsible for the dessert program development, staff training and execution of the dessert menus at all of Mina Group’s twenty-one restaurants across the country. Carson brings his refined sense of texture, taste and tradition to the Mina Group restaurants, melding his interpretations with Michael Mina’s creative style for a cohesive and delectable finish to each guest’s meal.
Carson’s impressive career was constructed in the kitchens of great traditional French and contemporary American restaurants, from renowned classics such as Le Bernardin and the Waldorf Astoria’s Peacock Alley to Carmel’s Highlands Inn. In Las Vegas, Carson’s experience includes Daniel Boulud at Wynn Las Vegas and Bellagio’s Picasso. He also gained valuable experience at both the Olives and B.R. Guest restaurant groups in New York. Carson was named one of Dessert Professional’s top ten pastry chefs of 2009.
CHEF ROB EVANS, a native New Englander, has been building a vocal consensus among farmers, foragers and Mainers since 2000, initially at the helm of Hugo’s, an award-winning restaurant located in Portland’s Old Port District. Critics too have taken note: In 2004, Evans was named one of Food and Wine’s Top 10 Best New Chefs, and more recently, the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Northeast 2009. Evans opened his most recent eatery, DUCKFAT™, in 2005 with his wife, Nancy Pugh. DUCKFAT™ is proud to be independently owned and operated. They hand-cut organic Maine potatoes for their signature DUCKFAT™ fries, recycle and compost 90% of their waste and are committed to community supported agriculture and businesses.
Evans is currently focusing on new projects and is a driving force behind the Portland food scene.
Simple, creative preparation of the freshest seasonal foods has earned CHEF TERENCE FEURY his sparkling reputation. Philadelphia magazine named Feury “Best Chef 2010” and Philadelphia Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan dubbed Feury “a local star,” and “one of the city’s finest chefs.” Throughout his career, Feury has worked in some of New York’s best restaurants, including Le Bernardin, a gourmet seafood restaurant whose sterling national standing includes a long history of four-star ratings from The New York Times. Today, he brings his expert talent as Executive Chef to Philadelphia’s Fork, one of the area’s best-reviewed restaurants and a wildly popular spot for both residents and visitors.
Since Feury’s arrival at Fork in January 2009, he has worked to evolve the restaurant’s seasonally changing menus, increasing their already-substantial commitment to locally grown produce and focusing on artisanal food production. To that end, Chef Feury and his team house-cure the restaurant’s smoked and dried meats and charcuterie and hand-make all their pastas and breads.
Having earned four-star reviews and the coveted designation of Chef of the Year (2011) by the Chicago Tribune, CHEF ANTHONY MARTIN is the celebrated Executive Chef/Partner at renowned progressive French restaurant Tru. Working professionally in the kitchens of the Ritz-Carlton, Gunter Seeger and Alex in the Wynn Resort and Casino, Martin has most recently lent his talents to opening the celebrated restaurant Joel Robuchon at the MGM Grand, which was awarded three Michelin stars. The author of flavor combinations described by food critic Phil Vettel as “maddeningly subtle, driving over-analytical foodies to despair,” Martin was recently named a Rising Star by Restaurant & Hospitality.
CHEF ROBERT MCCORMICK is at the helm of culinary operations at The Little Nell as Executive Chef. Honing his experience at some of the top restaurants in the country, McCormick has an extensive background in refined culinary environments. He spent five years with Daniel Boulud as corporate Sous Chef and helped open The Daniel Boulud Brasserie at the Wynn, where he and his team earned one Michelin star. Other highlights include time with Michelle Richard at Citronelle in Washington, DC, three years with Guenter Seeger and a stint at the five diamond Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park.
McCormick’s brand of cooking is influenced as much by the diverse culinary training of his staff as the local Colorado farming community. He describes Montagna’s kitchen dynamic as “a creative collaboration of talented, passionate people.” McCormick is a firm believer in using and highlighting local ingredients, sustainable fish, organic vegetables and artisan cheeses.
Over his twenty-five year career, CHEF TAKASHI YAGIHASHI has been lauded from consumers and critics alike for his exquisite ways of melding contemporary French, Asian and American cuisine. Enhancing and updating the classic French with American and Japanese twists, the self-taught Yagihashi’s delicate balance and respect for natural flavors has become a hallmark of his cooking style. He enjoys pairing contrasting tastes and textures, and utilizing simple and complex techniques to showcase key ingredients.
The visionary behind critical successes such as Tribute, named “one of America’s top restaurants” by The New York Times, and Takashi, named one of ten “Best New Restaurants of the Year” by Esquire, Yagihashi continues his career as celebrated restaurateur and Executive Chef of the Slurping Turtle, located in downtown Chicago.
Yagihashi was selected by the esteemed James Beard Foundation as Best Chef Midwest in 2003.
MASTER SOMMELIER JONATHAN PULLIS’ interest in wine began at an early age when, at home in Rochester, New York, his dad would occasionally open a carefully chosen and aged bottle with dinner. In 1993, after receiving a degree in economics at the University of Vermont, he ventured to St. John in the Caribbean, where he tasted and studied up on the wines on the list at Le Chateau de Bordeaux while working there as a bartender and server. Lured to Aspen and Montagna in 1998, Pullis worked his way up the ranks on the restaurant floor and through the four levels of the Court of Master Sommeliers educational program. He received the Master Sommelier Diploma in 2009.
As Montagna’s Wine Director, Pullis is passionate about the restaurant’s wine program, as well as its vast array of unique and classic cocktails. With a 20,000+bottle cellar and 1,500 selections on the wine list, The Little Nell’s wine program is about the great wines of the world, offered at great value.