LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – March 12, 2021 – Sébastien Roelly has joined Lake Placid, New York’s Whiteface Lodge as executive chef. A French-trained chef, pastry chef and restaurateur, Roelly brings more than 20 years of experience in top restaurant and hotel kitchens throughout his native Canada and the U.S. to his new role. His expertise spans the classic French cuisine he embraced from childhood—working his way through the French cookbook collection of his professional chef father—to Italian and Asian fusion cuisine.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Chef Sébastien to Whiteface Lodge,” said Joe Giannino, general manager of the AAA Four-Diamond, luxury all-suite Adirondack resort. “The depth and versatility of his experience is right in line with the direction of the resort. His leadership will bring something new and exciting to those dining with us and begin the process of bringing the Lodge forward as a culinary destination.”
Before his move to Whiteface Lodge, Roelly served as executive chef of the Quebec City Marriott Downtown in his hometown. He was previously with the Hilton Quebec in the same city.
Between 2010 and 2016, he helmed a series of acclaimed Quebec City restaurants. The first, Roëlli Café Patisserie, he opened as a Parisian-style pastry shop and light lunch café before transforming it into an upscale bistro with an emphasis on innovative pastry selection. From there, Roelly took on Italian cuisine as executive chef of Michelangelo and its Mezzo antipasto bar as well as two locations of Ristorante Il Matto.
For five years prior, Roelly worked in British Columbia broadening his techniques in seafood and Asian fusion cuisine. He served as executive chef of The Hermitage restaurant (2009-10) and La Regalade (2005-09), both in Vancouver, and Bistro Bistro in Kitsilano (2007).
Roelly’s early professional years were spent mastering classic French cuisine in some of Quebec’s finest restaurants, from small bistros to upscale gastronomic hotels and pastry shops. He apprenticed at Le Rabelais in Boca Raton, Florida, alongside his father, Gerard Roelly, a holder of the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France title.
